Yuugiou! A New Generation of Priests SE
by Skyla Doragono
Summary: Year Two at Hogwarts revised edition. Yuugi and the gang return to Hogwarts for another year of school. However, things are more dangerous than before, thanks to a bumbling DADA teacher and a mysterious voice in the walls...
1. The Paperboy

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

Yes, yes; finally another chapter. Despite the belief of some certain anal people out there (you know who you are), I was not hung up on this because of trouble trying to incorporate Darkshipping into this story. I've been very busy in recent months and under a lot of stress as well, making writing difficult. Idiot, self absorbed reviewers haven't helped, but unfortunately I cannnot address that here. I might create a forum to answer annoymous reviews, but for now, just enjoy the story.

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**CHAPTER ONE – THE PAPERBOY**

Morning dawned slowly on Domino City, Japan, and Seto Kaiba was already awake, working at his computer like he always did, though he took the occasional glance out the window. He could not help it; he loved getting up early to see what – he considered – was one of the ultimate ironies of the world.

Just as he was about to go to another window on the laptop, said irony decided to show his spiky head.

He sat back to watch as the new local paperboy, otherwise known as Atemu, rang the buzzer that would call out the butler. Seto did not know much of the details – he may associate with them, but he preferred to stay aloof of their little happy-go-lucky group – but apparently Mrs. Mutou had only agreed to let Yuugi's new twin stay if he could pull his own weight. He would have loved to be a fly on the wall during that conversation, if only to see the look on the pharaoh's face when he was told he had to get a summer job.

The butler made his way down the long expanse of driveway, to the gate where Atemu stuck a paper through for the man to take. From his vantage point, Seto saw the two of them nod to each other, probably wishing one another a good day, before Atemu rode off, back toward the inner city.

As the butler made his way back to the mansion, Seto settled back in his seat with an amused smile. What a perfect way to start the morning…

-.oOOo.-

People just waking up or those starting to open up their businesses passed by him in a blur, some waving to him as he sped by, others going to collect the paper he threw – one even tried to actually catch it. Atemu, despite his horror at having to get a job, so far loved his work. It brought in a good amount of money, and gave him a good excuse to get out of the house, as he was usually up before the sun out of habit anyway.

Well, that, and it gave him an excuse to go to Bakura and Ryou's apartment when he was done his route.

He rounded a nearby corner, tossing out the second to last of his papers to a small jewelry store, before continuing up the hill he was on, following the familiar twists and turns of roads to the beautiful – and no doubt expensive – apartment complex. After hopping off his bike and locking it into a rack, he grabbed the last paper and jogged up to the buzzer, hitting the one for Ryou's apartment before going inside. As usual, he took the stairs – elevators made him nervous – all the way up to the top floor, hurrying over to the apartment and knocking on the door.

There was a long moment of silence, before Bakura finally opened the door. Atemu smiled, but the former tomb robber just grabbed the paper in his hands and slammed the door closed, leaving him blinking in bewilderment. The angry look was just starting to appear on his face, when the door opened again and a hand snapped out, grabbing his shirt and dragging him into the apartment.

Next thing Atemu knew, he heard the door slammed closed, and he was bent over with a pair of hungry lips pressed against his. He blinked, caught off guard completely, not getting a chance to actually enjoy the kiss before Bakura pulled away.

"Well…" he began, groping for words. "I take it you missed me?"

"No, I was just grateful for the paper," Bakura replied flippantly, getting Atemu to roll his eyes as the tomb robber set him back upright.

"Who are you kidding; you can't read," he replied.

Bakura paused a moment, considering, before he smirked. "Well, that's what my yadonushi is for."

Atemu raised an eyebrow, smirking back. "And… what are you going to do when you're separated?"

The tomb robber paused; almost looking worried, before he smirked again. "That's what you're for."

"Gee, thanks…" Atemu muttered. Bakura chuckled, wrapping his arm around him and kissing his forehead.

"Go take a shower. You stink," he muttered, letting him go after a moment in favor of going to the kitchen. Atemu snorted, rolling his eyes, before heading to the bathroom, starting to strip along the way.

By the time he got out – wearing nothing but a towel about his waist – there was a steaming plate of eggs and bacon waiting for him on the coffee table, which stood before the couch that Bakura was sitting on, looking over two envelopes and shooing an owl away from Atemu's breakfast.

"Hogwarts letters," he grunted, setting them down before grabbing the owl and going over to a window. Atemu blinked, picking up his letter as Bakura shoved the owl outside, closing it quickly as the bird tried to get back inside. It pecked at the screen, letting out a sound that could have passed off for a swear, before flying off.

"How the heck did they know I'd be here?" he asked, showing Bakura the envelope.

Mr. A. Mutou  
Just Coming out of the Bathroom  
54 Ringmaster Drive, Apt 601  
Domino City  
Japan

Bakura snorted. "The same way Dumbledore knew about your existence?"

"Point," Atemu replied, ripping open the envelope and shaking out the contents. Out fell the usual train ticket, item list, and welcoming letter, this time for the second year, with a post script pointing out that Kaiba had offered to transport them all to England this year on his personal jet.

"How are we all going to cram into that Blue Eyes jet?" Bakura asked, letting Atemu read it to him.

The pharaoh half laughed. "I don't think they mean that jet," he said, moving on to the list of books and items they would need that year. It was considerably shorter compared to last years list:

**SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:**

_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_  
by Miranda Goshawk  
_Break with a Banshee_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Gadding with Ghouls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Holidays with Hags_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Travels with Trolls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Voyages with Vampires_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Wanderings with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Year with the Yeti _by Gilderoy Lockhart

"Who's this Lockhart guy?" Bakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No idea…" Atemu murmured, looking the parchment over front and back, as if that would give him a clue. "Sounds like a prude." Bakura snorted as he continued, "Besides, in addition to this, I'll need the stuff I would have gotten last year… 'ya know, if I had been a separate person then."

Bakura chuckled, wrapping his arms around him. "I'll have to help you get your robes…" he muttered, getting Atemu to turn bright red.

"Pervert…" he muttered, letting out a yelp as a hand went down south followed by an amused purr.

"Damn right…"

-.oOOo.-

Atemu knew he would be asking for trouble when he walked into the arcade wearing one of Bakura's shirts, but the tomb robber would not let him out of the apartment in the clothes he had worn for work – it took him ages just to let him get away with letting him wear his own pants. So, he was not entirely surprised when he heard the cat call from the spot of the arcade him and his companions usually hung out in. He rolled his eyes, going over to punch Jounouchi in the arm.

The blonde sniggered good-naturedly. "Hmm… first you come out wearing one of his shirts. One of these days you're gonna come out walking lopsided…"

"Jounouchi…!" Yuugi exclaimed, hugging Atemu about the waist before the pharaoh could do anything potentially bad.

The pharaoh rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around Yuugi and pointing a finger at Jou. "I told you, we're not doing anything – if we even decide to do anything – like that until he has his own body as well."

Jou gave him a disbelieving look. "'If you even decide to do anything'," he repeated. "Yeah, right. Three thousand years of sexual tension, you'll be jumpin' on each other like rabbits."

Jou had to jump back, and Honda had to grab Atemu's arm, otherwise everyone else in the arcade probably would have gotten an idea of what "divine justice" looked like. The blonde sniggered as he let out a frustrated noise, coming close to pouting.

"Why are we even having this conversation?" he finally grumbled in frustration, before looking down at Yuugi. "Did you get your letter today too, aibou?"

"Yup!" he replied as Anzu frowned.

"I don't like the thought of him taking you guys," she said. "I don't trust him."

Atemu just chuckled softly. "Don't worry so much, Anzu. He has to get to school too; he wouldn't try anything stupid."

"Yeah, right," Honda replied, disbelieving. "And how many times do you think he's going to try and challenge you to a life or death duel?"

"None," Yuugi spoke up. "Knowing Kaiba, he'd be too busy flying the plane and pretending we don't exist."

-.oOOo.-

The "Hogwarts Crew" – as Jou was starting to call Yuugi, Atemu, Ryou, and Seto – had to meet up at Kaiba Corporation Headquarters the day they were to begin their journey for the new school year. Yuugi and Atemu were the last to arrive (with Yuugi's mother and grandfather with them to see them off), and the pharaoh looked up at the massive building. It had been ages since he had been here, and that was on hardly good circumstances. Even now, he could feel his stomach twist slightly at the memory.

Yuugi put a hand on his shoulder, smiling up at him encouragingly as they headed into the building. Someone was there to lead them out back to the jet hanger, as Mrs. Mutou started to fuss over her son.

"Yuugi, do you even bother to wash your face?" she asked, wetting a handkerchief and starting to scrub at his face. Atemu hid a smile as the younger boy flailed, before she set her sights on him.

"You too!" she exclaimed as Atemu tried to get away. "I swear, you two really are halves of one another."

The pharaoh made a face, trying to get away. "M-Mrs. Mutou…!"

She hit his nose with her handkerchief. "Okaa-san!" she replied sternly.

Atemu sweatdropped. "'K…'kaa-san…"

The man leading them coughed softly, encouraging them to hurry up. After a bit of walking, and a bit more of straightening out the pharaoh's ego, they arrived at the hanger, where Ryou was already standing with his luggage, watching as it was loaded onto the small plane. He turned, and waved to Yuugi and Atemu happily… but Yuugi's mother was eyeing him, an odd look in her eyes.

"Is that him?" she asked.

Atemu blinked, mouth open to ask what she meant by that, but she was already marching toward Ryou (who had developed a rather worried look on his face). In a blink, she had the poor boy by the ear, ranting rather loudly.

"You better be taking good care of my son! I don't want to see any more ugly marks on his neck like last Saturday! Or anywhere else for that matter!"

Ryou was sputtering, trying to say something in his defense as Atemu covered his face with his hands, hiding the brilliant red color it had taken on. It took a moment before Sugoroku was able to pull her off of him (with her shouting, "I'm going to check every inch of him when you get back from school, so behave!"), and by that time Seto had come out of the cockpit, leaning against the doorframe with a rather sadistic smirk on his face.

Atemu tugged his belongs over to Ryou as a rather embarrassed Yuugi wished his family well over the year, adding his trunks to his pile before looking at the now rather red boy.

"Let me guess…" he began.

"Yes," Ryou cut in before he could finish, "Bakura is laughing his ass off."

-.oOOo.-

The flight to England went well enough. As Yuugi predicted, Seto spent most of his time in the cockpit, even though he could have easily put the plane on autopilot as soon as everything was well underway. Which, in a way, was a good thing, as Bakura decided to show himself not long after the plane evened out. No doubt a certain high priest would have emulated Mrs. Mutou's rant if he saw the way the tomb robber grabbed Atemu.

"'I'm going to check every inch of him'," he mimicked, expression on his face like the cat that caught the canary. "I thought only I was allowed to do that…?" he added, hand going south…

There was a moment of silence, which no doubt would have been filled if blushing produced a noise, before Atemu finally flailed, knocking Bakura's hand away.

"PG-thirteen! PG-thirteen!" he exclaimed, turning even redder as Yuugi put his hands over his mouth, trying to stifle his giggles.

Despite all his flailing, though, he was asleep on Bakura's lap by the time they arrived at London's airport, leaving the tomb robber to carry him out of the plane and into a waiting limo. He was just coming awake as they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, and half leaned on Bakura as they arranged for their rooms. Awake or not, he was not conscious enough to really take in his surroundings, other than the bed he blissfully cratered on as soon as he shambled upstairs to his room.

He was awakened the next day by an odd snapping sound, followed by something moving rather quickly next to him. He frowned, rolling over and rubbing his eyes open as he heard a yelp.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, Ishtar!"

Bakura's growl made Atemu snap his eyes open quickly. The bed next to him was all messed up, like someone had been sleeping next to him. Before him, Bakura was chasing Malik Ishtar around the room, the later holding a camera that he was making sure to keep far away from the tomb robber's grasp.

"Blackmail's sweet, ain't it, tomb robber?" Malik replied, ducking under his arm as Bakura tried to swipe at him.

Atemu grumbled, crawling out of bed and grabbing Malik by the scruff of his neck. He yelped, before the pharaoh tossed him out of the room, closing the door in his face.

"Good to see you again, 'Temu!" Malik called through the door.

"Likewise," he grumbled back, before turning to Bakura as the sound of retreating feet came from the other side. _"What _are you doing here?"

Bakura took a moment to calm himself, before a smirk quirked up on his lips. "I booked a double for us."

Atemu paused a moment, looking about to note Ryou's belongings stacked alongside his.

"Why? Bakura—"

The tomb robber cut him off, wrapping his arms around him gently in a comforting embrace. "Am I bothering you?" he murmured softly.

Atemu sighed, giving him a stern look, before resting his head on his shoulder. "No… I'm just… not used to it."

Bakura chuckled softly, rubbing his back soothingly. "Well, I can't exactly promise I'll always be the doting boyfriend… 'cause that's lame… and stuff."

Atemu laughed, getting something resembling a gentle smile from Bakura. "But despite that… I still care for you…"

The pharaoh returned his smile. "Thanks…" he murmured. He stayed in his embrace a moment longer, before pulling away, going for his trunk. "I should get a shower."

"Need any help?"

Bakura ducked just in time to avoid the rolled up shirt thrown at him.


	2. Knockturn Alley

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

Phew; so sorry this took so terribly long to get out. I was, ah... how to say... infected with plot cancer? Hmm... yeah, that sounds about right. Didn't help that FFN decided to take one of my stories off for being against their policies. Hey, I don't read the front page; how about e-mailing members when you decide to make things like song fics against the rules, hm?

Well, anyway, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter. I'd like to say that updates will come more frequently, but I've started work on my own RPG, so I can't quite guarentee that. Hopefully they'll come faster. With any luck anyway...

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**CHAPTER TWO – KNOCKTURN ALLEY**

The four of them went out that day for their supplies, deciding to go to Flourish and Blotts for their books first. Unfortunately, the small bookstore was crammed tightly with excitable witches, all of them trying to get a look into the store. The reason for the odd volume of activity was proclaimed on a shining banner hanging just below the sign for the store.

GILDEROY LOCKHART  
will be signing copies of his autobiography  
_MAGICAL ME_  
today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

"Hey, it's that prude," Bakura pointed out, resting an arm around Atemu's shoulders.

"The majority of the textbook list is made up of his books," Seto noted, looking over his list.

"Either way, there's no way we're going to get in there," Malik stated. "C'mon, let's go get the other stuff we need."

"Yes," Atemu agreed. "I still need to get a wand for myself, among other things."

Bakura smirked. "I'm sure we can take care of that…" he purred, half dragging Atemu off as Yuugi and Malik sweatdropped. Kaiba smirked, muttering something about three thousand years worth of sexual tension, before turning to the other two.

"Well, we should get our—"

Seto suddenly stopped, a weird look appearing on his face, like he was fighting with himself. Malik and Yuugi exchanged looks, slightly amused, before Seto's face finally broke out in a big grin.

"Let's go get some money from the bank and enjoy ourselves!" the high priest exclaimed, looking a little too bright and happy, as usual. Yuugi and Malik laughed uneasily; it was hard to tell which Seto was worse…

-.oOOo.-

Bakura was far more enthusiastic about getting supplies for the pharaoh than Atemu was. Particularly, when it came to wands; he was never going to forget how long it took Yuugi to get his wand the year before. Fortunately, it took him hardly any time at all to get a wand, and ended up walking away with a fairly normal eleven-inch wand made of ebony with a core of phoenix feather.

"I'm surprised," he murmured as they walked out. "I thought for sure it would take forever to get out of there."

"I guess that just means you're normal," Bakura replied casually, wrapping an arm about his waist as they started down the street.

They stopped by the various stores; Bakura sitting back and watching as Atemu was measured for robes, helping him get quills and ink and parchment, even stopping by the magical pet shop so the pharaoh could pick up a pet if he wanted. That took the longest of course, with him pretending he did not want to fall back on old habits and buy a cat. The tomb robber finally growled, before dragging him over to the pens the felines were kept in.

Atemu turned a bit red, giving Bakura a look, before looking through the cats. Given who he was, it was no surprise he was walking out with an Egyptian Mau cradled in his arms.

"So cute," he murmured, dangling a little toy above the kitten, watching as it tried to swipe at it. Bakura rolled his eyes, looking like he was trying not to gag from the adorableness.

"Happy now?" he teased, holding up a carrier for the kitten, helping the pharaoh place it inside. "What are you gonna name it?"

"Dunno yet," Atemu replied, placing a toy in before closing the carrier. "I'll think of something eventually. Now… is there anything else I need to get?"

"Don't think so—hello…" he suddenly said, stopping.

Atemu blinked up at him before following his gaze to the entrance of a darkened alley, with a crooked sign marking it as "Knockturn Alley". He made a face, getting a bad feeling about the place, and reached out instinctively, grabbing Bakura's arm before he could get any ideas. As it was, the tomb robber was eyeing the alleyway with interest, a slow smile starting to quirk up on his face.

"Forget it, Bakura," he said pointedly. "I don't think we should go down there."

"Why not?" Bakura said, smirking down at him. "Scared?"

Atemu bristled. "Of course not," he said sharply.

"Then what are you bitchin' about?" the tomb robber replied before he could continue, grabbing his hand and dragging him off behind him. Atemu let out a noise of protest, stumbling after him. By the time he had gathered himself enough to make a coherent protest, the darkness of the alley had already engulfed the two of them.

The pharaoh looked about nervously, catching sight of various gnarled and shifty looking wizards and witches. Many of them seemed not to know what a bath was, if the smell was any indication. He huddled a little closer to his more than a little excited boyfriend, trying to ignore the people around them.

"Bakura, I don't want to be here…" he murmured.

"Oh, grow a spine," Bakura replied, stopping at a store suddenly, drawing a grunt out of Atemu. He peered into the dirty shop window, eyeing the various products, obviously of dark magic origin.

The pharaoh rolled his eyes, going to turn around… when his eyes widened, and he grabbed the thief and pulled him into a small crevice between buildings. He looked rather annoyed, but a motion from the pharaoh had him hush, though the irritated look did not leave his face. A moment later they heard the door ring as it was opened, followed by a low, cold voice…

"Don't touch anything, Draco."

Bakura's eyes widened, but before he could comment, Atemu was slipping out of the crevice, waiting a moment, before slipping inside after the owner of that voice. Bakura groped for him, almost dropping the carrier and other packages he was saddled down with.

"Dammit, don't grow a spine _now," _he hissed, managing to pop himself out of the crevice just in time to see the door close.

Inside, Atemu slipped away behind a case quickly, watching Draco cross his arms as he focused a stubborn look at a tall, fair-haired man that could only be his father.

"I thought you said you'd buy me a present," he said irritably.

"I said I would buy you a racing broom," Mr. Malfoy replied, a slightly annoyed look on his narrow face.

Draco snorted in response. "What good will it do me if I'm not on the team?" he asked, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Harry Potter got his Nimbus Two-Thousands last year, with special permission from Dumbledore to play for Gryffindor. Potter isn't even that good, either. It's because he's _famous._ Famous Harry Potter with his precious _scar."_

Mr. Malfoy fixed his son with a scathing look. "I've heard this conversation before, Draco."

"But, father, it's not fair," Draco protested. "Potter and those foreign boys are freaks of nature, yet they get special treatment from most the teachers. It's disheartening for _normal_ wizards."

Mr. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I admit, I was not thrilled when I heard not one but four, sixteen-year-old foreigners would be attending the school. Keep in mind, though, Draco, it would not be prudent to be less than fond of them or Potter, as you so clearly have discovered. Ah, Mr. Borgin!"

An ugly sort of man appeared behind the counter, stooping over slightly and running a hand through his greasy black hair. He reminded Atemu of a hunchback version of Professor Snape. Mr. Borgin and Mr. Malfoy starting talking back and forth, haggling over something that the later was selling as Draco started to wander, looking about the various products on display. He finally came to a closet, and was about to open it…

"Done," Mr. Malfoy suddenly declared. "Come, Draco."

Draco turned around and away from the closet. Father and son left the store, and Mr. Borgin retreated to the back room, muttering obscenities under his breath. Atemu waited a moment, before slipping out of his hiding spot. He was about to hurry out, when he heard footsteps behind him; he was about to whirl around, when the owner of said footsteps collided into him.

"Yuugi?"

Atemu turned and looked down, seeing a mused up Harry Potter behind him. His face was covered in soot and the young wizard was squinting up at him, as his glasses seemed to be missing.

"Close enough," Atemu replied, resting a hand on his shoulder and hurrying him out. Bakura grabbed the pharaoh as soon as he left the shop, mouth opened to yell at him, when he spotted Harry.

"Where'd he pop out from?" he asked instead.

"The fireplace," Harry provided, drawing confused look out of the other two. "Don't ask. Let's just get out of here."

"Yes, let's," Atemu replied, grabbing Bakura's sleeve and propelling him back down the direction they came before he could protest.

The pharaoh rested a hand on Harry's back as they made their way down the street, with the tomb robber looking for something that would point them back toward Diagon Alley. Nothing stood out, however, and Atemu turned to Bakura, giving him a look.

"I know exactly where we're going," he insisted, though the look on his face proved otherwise.

"Not lost, are you dears?" a crackling old voice came from above them. The three of them spun around to see a particularly gnarled old witch, carrying a platter with what looked eerily like human fingers.

Atemu made a face. "We're just fine, thanks."

The three of them started to back away from her as she held a hand out toward them. "Why don't you come with me dearies? I'll help you find your way…"

"Harry! Yuugi! Ry'u! What d'yeh think yer doin' down there?"

They spun around again as the witch backed off and retreated into the shadows. Up above them, standing at the top of a flight of stairs, was a giant of a man in a fur overcoat with a bushy black beard and kindly beetle black eyes. They raced up to Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper, grateful to see him again.

"What are yeh three doin' in Knockturn Alley?" he asked them, hauling them into the sunlight next to a sign marked Diagon Alley and not that far from Gringotts, the wizard's bank. "Dodgy place that is. Don' want no one ter see yeh down there."

"Oh, yes, dodgy place," Atemu said dryly, giving Bakura a look as Hagrid attempted to brush the soot off of Harry. The tomb robber just flashed a lopsided grin.

"What were _you_ doing down there anyway?" Harry asked, dodging as Hagrid went to brush him off again.

"_I_ was lookin' fer flesh eatin' slug repellent," Hagrid replied. "They're ruinin' the cabbages at school. Yer not on yer own, are yeh?"

"We're with the others," Bakura provided.

"I'm with the Weasley's," Harry said. "It was my first time attempting to use Floo Powder, only…" He reached into his robe pocket, pulling out his snapped glasses. "I kinda missed."

"Harry!" someone shouted.

The three boys looked up to see a bushy brown-haired girl in a plaid pleated skirt and shirt with a wizard robe that had the Gryffindor house crest on the side. Hermione Granger raced up to them, giving both of them a warm hug.

"It is so _wonderful_ to see you all again!" she exclaimed. "I just saw Malik, Yuugi, and Seto at the bank." She paused a moment, looking down at Harry's glasses, before shaking her head. "Honestly, Harry…"

Harry looked rather sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck as another shout came from down the street. They turned to see a heard of concerned Weasleys, Malik, Yuugi, and Seto running toward them.

"How come you always manage to get into trouble?" the high priest asked, drawing a sweatdrop from the pharaoh as Mr. Weasley took Harry's glass and handed them back to him a moment later, good as new.

"Where did you come out at, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley."

"_Wicked!"_ Fred and George exclaimed. Bakura sniggered as both Atemu and Hermione sighed and shook their heads.

-.oOOo.-

After a quick stop at Gringotts Bank for those that still needed to get money, everyone separated once again. The Weasley twins went off with their friend from school, Lee Jordan, saying something about a new gag shop that opened up. Mrs. Weasley took Ginny, the youngest of the Weasley children and the only girl, to get her new school supplies, as she would be starting at Hogwarts that term. Mr. Weasley had taken Hermione's parents aside, jabbering at length about their lives as Muggles. That left the second year Hogwarts crew all to themselves with their own bags full of money, some of which quickly got spent on new parchment, ink, and quills before they went off to look at the other stores.

They had to meet back with the Weasleys in an hour at Flourish and Blotts. After a half hour's worth of looking around at stores, the eight friends settled down at an ice cream shop, ordering up strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice cream and catching up with one another before they had to go to the store.

"…so," Malik was saying, "as soon as Atemu walked into the arcade by himself, Anzu pounced on him."

Bakura growled at the memory, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and wrapping an arm about the pharaoh's waist. Atemu just smiled softly, patting his hand as Ron sniggered.

"She's had a crush on me since she found out I was a separate person from Yuugi," he said calmly. "It was a reflex."

"Oh, yes, reflex," Bakura growled. "He was all but humping your leg like a desperate little puppy. Don't go there."

The high priest choked, pounding a fist on his chest to try and get his ice cream down. "Ow… the mental image… it hurts…"

Conversation continued until their ice cream was finished, before making their way to the bookstore. The place was terribly crowded with witches, and once Hermione saw the sign hanging out front, she let out a squeal that almost made Malik's ears bleed.

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed, scrambling to fix her hair. "We'll actually get to meet him!"

Malik sweatdropped, a bit of a jealous tint coming to his face. "So?"

The eight of them somehow miraculously managed to squeeze into the bookshop. Each of them grabbed a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ before joining the Weasleys and Mr. and Mrs. Granger in the huge mass of people.

"Oh, there you are dears," Mrs. Weasley said distractedly, continuously patting her hair. "He should be coming out any moment now."

After a moment, a wizard in forget-me-not blue robes and wizard's cap emerged from behind a curtain to the applause of all the ladies in the store (and Malik's jealous grumbling). His eyes were the same color as his flashy robes, and his hat was set at a jaunty angle over his wavy blonde hair. He smiled a brilliant smile, showing off rows of perfect white teeth and making a couple witches in the crowd faint.

Yuugi just stared, at a loss for words. Whatever he had been expecting when he thought of Lockhart, it was not this bishounen wannabe that stood before them.

"This… is pathetic…" Atemu muttered, voicing what his other half was thinking.

"You were right," Bakura said dully. "Prude."

A small old man flitted about, clicking away furiously with a camera. He bumped into Ron, forcing all of them to take a step back.

"Out of the way," he said, rather rudely. "This is for the _Daily Prophet."_

"Big deal," Ron grumbled, nursing his foot where the reporter had stepped on it. Lockhart had obviously heard what he had said, for he focused his gaze on him. He was about to say something, when he caught sight of Harry standing just behind him.

"It _can't_ be Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. The crowd parted, and Harry tried to run for it, but Lockhart grabbed him and dragged him to his side, shaking his hand furiously and smiling as the reporter clicked away.

"Smile, Harry," Lockhart encouraged, "between the two of us we'll make the front page."

The clicking continued on for what seemed like hours before Lockhart finally let go of Harry's hand. He tried to make a break for it, nursing his nearly limp hand along the way, but the flashy man grabbed him around the shoulders, pinning him to his side.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Lockhart announced, holding up his other hand for quiet. "When young Mr. Potter stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he not only wanted to pick up a copy of my complete works – which I will now present to him, free of charge –" The crowd applauded as he was handed a stack of Lockhart's books, much to Harry's displeasure. "He had _no idea_ that him and his classmates would be getting the real magical me. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that this September, I will be working at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

The crowd broke out in applause again as Harry wormed his way out of the limelight, going over to Ginny and dumping the books into her cauldron. Malik, Yuugi, Atemu, and Bakura were just staring at Lockhart as he started signing books, hardly believing what they had just heard.

"He's kidding right?" Bakura asked. "That was a joke, right?"

The high priest crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. "Well… he seems rather… interesting… in a fruity way…"

They were about to make their way out of the crowded store, when a shout from Ginny caught their attention. They turned to see that Draco Malfoy was harassing her and Harry. Seto growled under his breath, tearing the Millennium Rod from its hiding spot in his robe as he stalked off toward the pale boy.

"Seto, no!" Atemu cried, scrambling after him, reaching him just as the priest loomed over Draco.

"You never learn, do you?" he asked, crossing his arms and making sure that Malfoy could clearly see the Rod. Draco smirked – though the expression on his face was far from confident – and was about to come back with a witty comment, when his father suddenly appeared as if from nowhere, putting a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Now, now, Draco," Mr. Malfoy said. "Remember what I told you about how to treat foreign… guests."

The six of them frowned, not pleased by the way he had said that. He looked at each of them, smirking at their displeased expressions before returning his focus to Seto.

"Ah, yes, you must be Seto Kaiba, the one in charge of that… _muggle_ game corporation," he sneered. "Amazing how low the quality of students has dropped."

The priest fixed him with his classic cold stare; looking like he had in the past for the first time since he had come to appear in the real world. Mr. Malfoy did not even flinch, turning his focus to Malik.

"Malik Ishtar," he stated. "Sad that they allow criminals in the school…"

Malik flinched, grateful that Hermione was still preoccupied with getting her book signed.

"Just goes to show what kind of riff-raff Dumbledore allows at that school," Mr. Malfoy continued, glancing briefly at Bakura. "Including those possessed by common thieves."

Bakura growled, just barely stopped from pouncing on the elder Malfoy by a quickly moving Atemu. "I'll give you a common thief, you little…!"

"Temper, temper…" Mr. Malfoy purred, before eyeing the pharaoh. "Fortunately for you, you have your little… _toy _to keep you calm."

Bakura growled again, and Seto had to lend the short of stature pharaoh a hand in keeping him back. Mr. Malfoy did not take notice, coming at last to Yuugi, who was glaring up at him. The man gave him a look, as if the mere sight of him spoke for itself. He had turned, just as Mr. Weasley came pushing his way through the crowd, dragging his sons along behind him.

"Well now, boys," he began. "What say we get out of here and leave the ladies to –"

"Ah, Arthur Weasley," Mr. Malfoy interrupted coldly, turning back around. "How goes it at the Ministry of Magic? With all those raids, I do hope they're paying you overtime."

He brushed past the boys rather rudely to get to Ginny's cauldron, and pulled out a very battered, very old copy of _A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration._ He looked the cover over at several angles, a disgusted sneer on his face.

"Obviously not," he commented dryly, dropping the book back into the cauldron with a double _thump._

Mr. Malfoy whirled about then, urging his son out of the store and leaving everyone glaring at their retreating backs, each of them plotting ways to get back at him for insulting them. Malik pounded a fist into his open palm, a snarl on his face.

"Malfoy, that bastard…" he growled.

The priest just shook his head sadly, slipping the Rod back into his robes. "Like father, like son."


	3. The Return to Hogwarts

**Yuugiou!   
A New Generation of Priests**

Hee... I'm waiting for people to freak out because this update came so quickly. MUAHAHAHAHA! XD

Oh, and Play the Damn Card on LJ is crack. Just thought you'd all like to know. Now, read the damn fic while I nod sagely. :P

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE – THE RETURN TO HOGWARTS**

Yuugi dashed out of his room late that September first morning, his toothbrush still hanging from his mouth, hightailing it to his other half's room as quickly as he could. They all had woken up late, the promised wake up call from Tom coming rather late, and knowing the pharaoh, he probably just picked up the phone and hung it back up right away. If he did not know otherwise, he would have never believed this man used to wake up with the sun.

He pounded on Atemu and Bakura's door, taking his toothbrush out long enough to shout, "Mou hitori no boku! Get up! We're gonna miss the train!"

The only response he got was a groan followed by a _thump; _Atemu had thrown his pillow at the door. Yuugi let out an annoyed noise, before focusing his thoughts…

_MOU HITORI NO BOKU! GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED NOW! _

Atemu let out a yelp of surprise, leaping up and landing rather ungracefully on what he had been using as a substitute for his pillow – Bakura's chest. The tomb robber let out an annoyed grunt, cracking an eye open and glaring down at him.

"The hell… are you a Mexican jumping bean now?" he asked drowsily. Atemu rubbed his eyes, mouth opened to answer him, when Yuugi's voice came through the door again.

"If you two don't get moving right now, we'll leave you behind!"

Bakura gave the pharaoh an exasperated look. "It's like you two still share the same body."

Atemu grunted, crawling over the tomb robber to get out of the bed. He grabbed the smaller man, though, grinning up at him, before pulling him down for a kiss. Atemu rolled his eyes slightly, enjoying it for a moment…

_"Now, _other me!" Yuugi shouted, getting a groan out of Bakura.

"Can it, _shrimp!" _he shouted as Atemu scrambled off to get dressed.

-.oOOo.-

Draco Malfoy held most things outside of his perfect little world in contempt. He was the sun and everything revolved around him, and that was that. So, needless to say, things that defied his way of life were objects of contempt; and a good example of this were the twin freaks with starfish-hair barreling through the barrier that separated the detestable Muggle world from Platform Nine and Three Quarters. They brought their trolleys to a halt, just in time to turn and watch as the others of their little band of foreign morons came through.

They could not see him, of course. He had arrived early, and was already seated in his chosen place on the train. He could see and hear them however, and watched with an air of boredom as the five of them ran as quickly as they could for the scarlet steam engine.

"Pharaoh, c'mon, move it."

"Hang on! I—oof!"

"Ugh… mou hitori no boku…"

Draco smirked as the pharaoh picked himself up, rubbing the back of his head and muttering under his breath before attempting to pick up his fallen trolley.

"How terribly graceful," Kaiba said dryly. "And you were royalty?"

"I guess the only thing he can really do is ride around on a bike everywhere," Malik teased.

"When he isn't being ridden himself, that is," Kaiba added.

"Oh, shut up," Atemu grumbled as the two of them sniggered and Ryou turned bright red.

"Can we please not have this conversation!" he exclaimed as someone came to put their luggage on the train.

"Agreed," Yuugi said, taking a bright blue backpack off of his trolley. Seto gave the bag an annoyed look, as Malik made a face.

"Geeze, Yuugi, do you have to carry those things around all the time?"

Draco sat up a bit straighter, intrigued. Did Mutou have something he was not supposed to…?

"We can't exactly leave them at home," Atemu pointed out. "I wouldn't want to leave Grandpa with that kind of responsibility. It wouldn't be fair."

"Agreed," Yuugi replied. "Besides, we can keep an eye on them easier this way."

They went to get on the train (the pharaoh had to double back to collect the cat carrier he left on his trolley by accident), leaving Draco to ponder upon the contents of that bag. He bet whatever it was, it was something like the dragon they had tried to get rid of. Excellent… he would get them expelled for sure…

-.oOOo.-

Bakura had finally convinced Atemu to curl up on a seat with him, when Hermione showed up in their compartment. Malik jumped up almost immediately, going over to give her a hug.

"You're hopeless, Gravekeeper," the tomb robber stated. Atemu sweatdropped, before elbowing him.

"You have no room to talk," he stated.

"Hey, at least you're around my age."

Hermione gave him a dull look. "Yes. Old," she said, making both Egyptians sweatdrop. "Anyway," she continued. "Have any of you seen Harry and Ron?"

"You're the first person we've seen since coming aboard," Seto replied distantly, not taking his eyes off his computer.

"You don't think they missed the train?" Yuugi asked.

"I don't see how; they were right behind us," Hermione replied. "Oh, I _do _hope they don't do anything stupid…"

"Ron and Harry? Left to their own devices?" Atemu replied. "It's a guarantee."

-.oOOo.-

Draco made sure that Mutou and his band of idiots were a good distance ahead of him once they all got out of the carriages that took the place of the boats they had taken up to the castle the year before. Once they were inside, he hid in the shadows, waiting and watching as the other students passed by him. Mutou got as far as the line of luggage for the Gryffindor students, when the caretaker, Mr. Filch, stopped him.

"All your luggage goes together, Mutou," the man stated, looking down at the Japanese boy with a look of contempt.

"Ah… but, sir, I need to keep this—"

"No exceptions," Filch stated, wrenching the bag from him and putting it with the rest of the luggage, before shooing him away.

Draco sniggered privately, but kept quiet, watching and waiting for the rest of the students to make their way to the Great Hall, and for Filch to finally leave. At that moment, he darted forward, going to Mutou's bag, grabbing the zipper and pulling it open.

He had to shield his eyes momentarily, not counting on the glowing things inside the bag. He looked inside afterwards… and his mouth hung open slightly, not counting on what he found. More of those strange… _things… _like the one Mutou wore. Apparently they were precious, considering how that runt did not want to part from them.

He smirked, reaching in and pulling out a round, ball like one, holding it up. It almost looked like an eye, and something seemed off about it… he brought it closer to his own eye, only to have a strange feeling of dread overwhelming him… He dropped it quickly, making a face as he looked through the others. Some kind of necklace, a strange cross – he thought it was called an ankh – and a scales were also in the bag. He put his hand around the ankh first… only…

"Ow!" he hissed, pulling his hand away… only to reveal it had been burned…

"Who's there?" came Filch's voice. Draco swore softly, before grabbing the first item his good hand encountered. His fingers wrapped around the scales, and he wrenched it free, zipping up the bag and stuffing the thing in his robes…

…and not noticing the Scales had stopped glowing…

-.oOOo.-

Yuugi patted his stomach happily as he made his way up to the Gryffindor common room at Hogwarts, satisfied with the wonderful meal he had just had. The only odd part of the whole dinner were the wild rumors that someone had flew a car into a Whomping Willow tree on the school grounds. Considering the various arguments he had heard from the Weasleys, plus the fact that no one had seen hide nor hair of Harry and Ron… if the rumors were true, he was almost positive who was behind it.

His suspicions were confirmed when he caught sight of the two boys in question standing outside of the painting of the fat lady in the pink dress that guarded the entrance to the common room. He smiled, before running up to them.

"I can't believe you two flew the car to school!" he exclaimed. Ron rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"It wasn't fun," he said. "Well, it was at first, but…"

"We're just glad to be back," Harry finished. "Anyway, do you know the new password?"

Yuugi nodded before turning his attention to the painting. "Wattlebird."

The portrait swung open, to reveal every single Gryffindor packed into the common room, waiting for Harry and Ron. The two boys were grabbed almost immediately and hauled into the room, leaving Yuugi to scramble in after them before the portrait closed.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Lee Jordan shouted.

"Why couldn't we fly the car too?" the twins asked.

"I can't believe you guys crashed into a tree!" Malik exclaimed.

"Not just any tree!" Neville Longbottom added. "The Whomping Willow! You two were lucky to survive."

Ron and Harry exchanged sheepish expressions as Yuugi giggled.

"Congratulations," he said, patting them on the bag, before moving to go upstairs. "You're celebrities for the next, oh… five hours, or until Fred and George do something, whichever comes first."

The two of them laughed as Yuugi disappeared. It was hardly anytime later, however, when a shout of surprise came from the room. A hush fell over the room as the Japanese boy burst out of the room, going straight for the pharaoh. They exchanged words briefly, a worried look crossing Atemu's face, before he got up, going back up to the Second Year's dorm with his former host.

Ron and Harry exchanged worried looks, before getting up as well, Malik joining them a barely a moment later. They were treated to the site of Yuugi looking though his belongings, Atemu doing the same, the bag that held the Millennium Items open on the formers bed.

"What's wrong…?" Malik asked, afraid of the answer.

Yuugi stopped, looking up at him, the panic on his face evident. "The Millennium Scales. It's gone."

-.oOOo.-

_He did not usually dream. Dreams were for people that had a use for such nonsense; not for people such as him. Tonight, however… tonight his dreams were filled with vague shapes and disturbing sounds… None of it seemed to make sense, but the feeling of dread came through very clear… _

_Suddenly, the images totally stopped, and he thought everything would return to normal… _

_…and then came the eyes… _

_Glowing red eyes that seemed to pierce into his very soul… eyes that promised eternal darkness… _

Draco jumped awake after that, eyes wide and breathing hard as he tried to shake away the image of those horrible eyes…

"Draco?" came Crabbe's voice from beyond his curtains. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," he snapped. "Go back to sleep, you oaf."

There came a shuffling sound… and Crabbe's annoying snores a moment later, prompting Draco to roll his eyes. Stupid git…

He paused a moment, before reaching over and lifting up his mattress, revealing a part of the strange scales he had taken. The eye design on the shaft glinted slightly in the dim moonlight that managed to filter in through his curtains, looking deceptively innocent. Draco, however, gave it a distrustful look; had this thing somehow been responsible for that strange dream? How could it though… it was only a stupid scale…

"Humph," he muttered, dropping the mattress back and curling up to go back to sleep.

-.oOOo.-

It was about halfway through breakfast the next morning when the mail arrived. Malik was busily scanning through a note from his sister, a piece of toast hanging from his mouth, when something large and gray fell into a jug between him and Hermione, spraying everyone with milk and feathers. He pulled a feather from his hair as Ron grabbed the invading animal by its feet and hauled it out of the jug.

_"Errol!"_ he exclaimed, shaking his head sadly. "Bloody bird's a menace!"

There was a damp red envelope in the bird's mouth and he dropped it, allowing it to flutter to the table, before promptly passing out. Ron was not worried about the owl's condition, however. He was too busy staring at the piece of mail he had gotten.

"Oh no…" he whimpered.

"Look!" Seamus Finnegan exclaimed. "Weasley's got himself a Howler!"

Yuugi looked around as everyone at their table started laughing. "Howler?"

"You better open it, Ron," Neville encouraged. "I ignored one from my gran once. It was horrible."

Atemu and Malik's eyes grew wide as the younger boy shivered at the memory. Ron, pale as the Hogwarts ghosts and shaking, slowly opened the envelope. Neville and some other students stuffed fingers into their ears, and the three boys soon found out why.

**_"—STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE—" _**

Atemu and Yuugi clapped his hands over their ears at once, wincing as Mrs. Weasley's yells still came through loud and clear. Other students in the hall looked around, trying to see who had gotten the Howler. Ron was so embarrassed, he sunk low under the table, until only his forehead and eyes could be seen.

**_"—LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED—" _**

Harry sunk below the table too at the mention of his name, looking just as embarrassed as Ron was. Malik was just wondering when it all was going to stop.

**_"—ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED – YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!" _**

Silence reigned through the Great Hall as the red envelope – having fallen out of Ron's hands a long time ago – burst into flame and crumpled away into nothingness. Both Harry and Ron were shivering, staring at where the envelope had been in wide-eyed shock as the hall returned to its normal volume of chatter. Hermione just shook her head as the two of them numbly sat up properly in their seats.

"I don't know what you two were expecting, but –"

Malik put a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off. "Don't, Hermi-chan," he said. "No one deserved _that." _

Yuugi's ears were still ringing from the verbal assault as Professor McGonagall started passing out course schedules for her house. He took his, and was excited to see that they had double Herbology with Hufflepuff house first. Malik gave Atemu a lewd grin, elbowing him.

"Looks like you'll get a chance to do some things behind the bushes…"

Atemu turned red, and before Malik knew it, he was getting whacked with books from both the pharaoh and Hermione.

The six of them waffled down the rest of their breakfast before heading out the main entrance of the school and swinging around to the greenhouses, where most of the rest of the class was already assembled. Ryou waved to them energetically as they approached.

"This is great," he said. "We get to hang out more often than last year. Hey, Ron, you all right? That Howler thing was _awful." _

"You weren't on the receiving end," Ron replied weakly.

"So, Bakura-kun, think you're going to miss a lot of this class?" Malik asked.

"Hunh?" Ryou asked, giving him a blank look.

"Well, you know… the tomb robber's gonna pounce on Atemu as soon as they—_OW!" _

Atemu crossed his arms as the Gravekeeper hopped away from him, nursing the foot that the pharaoh had slammed his heal down on.

Just then, Professor Sprout came down the lawn, in the company of Gilderoy Lockhart. The normally perky woman had a downright scowl on her face, tossing an occasional glare at the other professor, who was wearing flashy robes of turquoise with a similarly colored hat. He waved to them casually, and some of the girls giggled, including Hermione. Malik fixed the professor with a jealous glare while Yuugi, Harry, Ron, Atemu, and Ryou rolled their eyes.

"Hello there, ladies and gentlemen!" he exclaimed. "Just showing Professor Sprout the proper way to doctor a Whomping Willow."

Professor Sprout glared at him, looking like she had not needed the "help" the other professor had provided.

"All right, chaps," she said loudly, cutting off Lockhart as he kept going on about how he had come across several Whomping Willows in the past. "It's greenhouse three today."

A murmur of interest went through the crowd of students. Greenhouse three supposedly contained some of the more dangerous plants in the world of magic. This was confirmed as, when the professor unlocked the greenhouse in question, a leathery roar reached their ears. Professor Sprout went in and smacked a tall plant with raspberry red flowers blossoming on it. It whimpered before falling silent, much to everyone else's amusement as they filed into the greenhouse.

"Oh, good woman, might you mind if I borrow Mr. Potter for a moment?" Lockhart asked, clasping a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry tried to break away from him as Professor Sprout opened her mouth to say no, when the flashy professor cut her off. "Thanks. You're a wonderful woman."

He closed the greenhouse door in their faces, just as Atemu was going to leap forward and grab Harry away. The Egyptian smacked against it instead, leaving an indentation on his forehead the same pattern as the offending door. He rubbed it, muttering curses under his breath as Yuugi patted him on the back.

After a moment, Harry returned, looking a bit disbelieving. Professor Sprout put her hands on her hips, shaking her head sadly as he rejoined his friends.

"Anyway," she said, a bit of her cheeriness coming back. "We'll be replanting Mandrakes today. Who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake…?"


	4. Millennium Item Thief

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests  
**

Ho'cheese, man, I'm on a roll!

Actually, I rather do this than edit MP3s to work in my video game. Nya...! XP

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**CHAPTER FOUR – MILLENNIUM ITEM THIEF**

Transfiguration class was always hard, but that morning it seemed to be exceptionally grueling. Everything they had learned the year before seemed to have slipped out of their heads over the summer holidays. They were supposed to be turning a beetle into a button, but all Atemu managed to do was give the thing a run for it's money and the insect attempted to avoid his wand. Harry attempted to help by boxing it in with his books, but that only resulted in the pharaoh setting them on fire.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Atemu exclaimed, trying to put the books out as Professor McGonagall gave him a disapproving look.

"Mr. Mutou, you make Mr. Longbottom look graceful," she stated, putting the fire out with a wave of her wand. The pharaoh just sweatdropped.

Ron was having a worse time of things. His wand had broken during their adventure with the flying car, and had been hastily taped up with some borrowed spell-o-tape. Fixing the wand seemed to have been a futile gesture, however; it randomly crackled and sparked, and every time Ron attempted to transfigure his beetle it engulfed him in horrible smoke that smelled like rotten eggs. Half the class backed away from him quickly as he flailed… and ended up crushing his beetle with his elbow.

It was a relief when the lunch bell rang, and the six of them hurried off quickly before McGonagall could stack them all with even more homework.

"That could have gone better," Atemu said, inspecting his wand as Ron smacked his, trying to get it to work.

"Stupid… useless… thing…!"

"So why don't you just write home for another one?" Yuugi suggested.

"Oh, yeah, and get another Howler," Ron replied. _"It's your own fault your wand broke…"_

Harry made a face. "Good point," he said. "Anyway, what do we have next?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione answered immediately, as Malik took her schedule to look over. After a moment, he face literally turned green with jealously.

"_Why_ in the name of Ra do you have all of Lockhart's classes outlined with hearts!" he demanded.

She turned bright red before snatching her schedule back from him. Harry laughed out loud as Malik started on an extensive swearing session in Arabic, when a blinding flash of light went off almost directly in his face. He blinked, colors swimming before his eyes, as a mousy-haired boy holding an old fashioned Muggle camera came into focus.

"All right there, Harry?" he asked. "I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too. It's so wonderful to finally get to meet you! You think you could sign my photo when I get it developed?"

All of this came out of the little boy's mouth in a rush, and it took Harry a moment to grasp what he said. When he finally did, he was about to stammer out a reply when someone beat him to it.

"Oy, what's this now, Potter?" Malfoy sneered from behind him, standing there with his hands on his hips and his bodyguards on either side. "Are you handing out signed photos now?"

Malik glared up at the pale blonde boy. "I thought I smelled something foul coming this way."

Malfoy smirked. "Are you sure it wasn't your own body odor coming back to your nose?"

Malik stood up threateningly, grabbing his wand from his robe pocket. Before he could do anything, however, Hermione grabbed him and pulled him back down into his seat as everyone's "favorite" bishounen approached.

"What's all this now? What's all this?" Lockhart asked. "Who's giving out signed photos?"

Harry tried to duck under the table, but it was no use. The flashy professor grabbed him and hauled him up out of his seat.

"Tsk, tsk. Harry Potter! I should have known!" he exclaimed, before crushing Harry to his side. "Take a picture of us, Mr. Creevey, and we'll both sign it for you."

Colin started taking rapid-fire pictures as Harry turned beet red, trying to wriggle his way out of Lockhart's iron grasp. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell signaling the start of afternoon classes rang, and Colin took off. Unfortunately, Lockhart kept Harry crushed to his side, dragging him along down the hallway to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and leaving his friends running to catch up.

"Now, Harry, I _understand_ you want to further your career," he said almost paternally, ignoring Harry's stammers, "but signing autographs at this stage isn't sensible. Don't worry, once you get to my level, you'll have to carry a whole stack of them around with you, but until that time, patience, Harry, patience."

He let go of him then, entering his classroom and allowing Harry to get his bearings as the others surrounded him.

"What career was he talking about?" Yuugi asked, frowning at the door to the classroom.

"He thinks I _want_ to be famous!" Harry exclaimed, brushing off the arm that had been pinned against Lockhart, as if he were afraid some of him was still left over.

"Don't be silly, Harry," Hermione said. "He was just offering you some advice."

Malik rolled his eyes. "Get the stars out of your eyes, Hermi-chan. That guy's a menace."

She pouted as Ron chuckled. "Still, though, Harry. You could have fried an egg on your face," he said. "You better hope Colin doesn't get with Ginny, or they'll be starting a Harry Potter fan club."

"Oh, please, let Lockhart hear you say that," Harry growled.

Atemu smirked, looking down to Yuugi. "Aw, c'mon, it can't be nearly as bad as the Yuugi Mutou fan club."

Yuugi turned the same color red as the raspberry tips of his hair. "That is just _embarrassing,"_ he stressed, looking up at the others. "Picture a bunch of people – girls even – with Styrofoam replicas of my hair on their heads. I nearly _died_ when I saw them."

"We found out he had a following over the summer," the pharaoh explained as they entered the classroom and took seats in the back (literally dragging Hermione with them). "Kaiba hosted another Battle City tournament – I think he's making it an annual thing, considering the over-all success of the last one. Anyway, we went out to register, when we came up on a group of them." He paused, before continuing dully, "One of them said I was the best cosplayer he had ever seen."

The rest of the class filed into the room, and Lockhart waited until everyone was settled before holding up a copy of one of his books and pointing to his own smiling face on the cover.

"Me," he announced. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's_ Most-Charming-Smile Award… but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ at her!"

He chuckled heartily, winking at the class the same time as the picture on the book. Hermione sighed dreamily, getting a scowl out of Malik. The other boys just shook their heads sadly. Lockhart set the book down and took up an armful of papers.

"Now, these are just simple quizzes to see how much you've read of my books," he announced, passing them out. "You have thirty minutes to complete it."

Yuugi looked down at his paper as soon as he got it, a disbelieving look on his face as he read through the questions.

_1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?  
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?  
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?_

It continued like this, all the way down to:

_54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?_

"I do not believe this…" Atemu muttered. Then, it was like a light bulb had gone off, and Yuugi sweatdropped as a slow, sly smile crept up on his face.

The pharaoh stretched a bit, tossing the others a wink. The other boys smirked and Hermione frowned disapprovingly, wondering what he was up to as he started on the paper with a self assured smile on his face.

A half hour later, Lockhart ordered them to pass in their papers, and Yuugi was able to get a good look at his other half's paper as it was passed down. He bit down hard on his lower lip, fighting desperately not to laugh out loud. Though he could not understand the majority of it, he did recognize some of what Atemu had wrote.

Not only had he managed to thoroughly insult Lockhart on every answer, but he wrote it all with Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Tut, tut," Lockhart said once he had all the papers, shaking his head. "Hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in _Year with the Yeti_. And a few of you need to read _Wanderings with Werewolves_ more carefully – I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples. Dear me, who wrote this?"

The professor had finally come upon Atemu's paper. The pharaoh had bent over his desk at that point, head buried in his arms, his whole body shaking with silent laughter. Lockhart flipped through the pages, a thoroughly befuddled look on his face.

"Ah, I see we have a prankster in our class," he said finally. "Well, no matter. This looks a bit Egyptian, and I hear Professor McGonagall knows a little of that dead language."

Atemu stopped dead at that, head lifting up a bit, all color draining from his face as Yuugi gave him a sympathetic look.

"Now, to business!" he exclaimed, reaching behind his desk and pulling out a fairly large covered cage. "Keep in mind, it is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures and spells known to wizard kind. You may be confronting your darkest fears in this room…"

In spite of himself, Malik leaned forward in his seat, interested, as Lockhart reached for the cover of the cage.

"I only ask," he said in a deep, haunting voice, "that you do not scream. It might provoke them!"

With that, he flipped the cover off… and even Hermione sweatdropped at the sight of what was underneath. In the cage were what only could be described as pixies; they were electric blue with elfish faces and fluttering wings. As soon as the cover was off, they started rattling against the cage frantically, jabbering in their own odd language. Seamus snorted out a laugh.

"Cornish Pixies!" he exclaimed, hardly believing the professor was being serious.

"Freshly caught Cornish Pixies," Lockhart corrected. Yuugi's eyes went wide as he reached for the door to the cage. He was not going to do what he was thinking, right? No one was that stupid.

Unfortunately, Lockhart proved him wrong, pulling open the cage door. Utter pandemonium followed, as the pixies sprung free of the cage and zoomed about the room, wrecking havoc. A few of them shot through the window, forcing Harry and the others to duck under the table as glass showered down on them. Neville was grabbed by the ears, and soon found himself hanging from the iron chandelier above.

"Come, come now!" Lockhart exclaimed. "They're only pixies!" He frowned, before pulling out his wand and waving it about flamboyantly. "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"

Nothing happened. One of the pixies grabbed the wand and tossed it out the window. By this time, most of the rest of the class had already vacated the room and Lockhart was quick to do the same as the bell rang. He paused at the stairs leading up to his office, looking down at the six friends, who were still hiding under their table.

"I'll just ask you five to clean up the lot of them," he said before bolting out of the room.

"Can you believe that guy!" Ron exclaimed, swatting away a pixie that tried to bite his ear as they emerged from under the desk.

"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience," Hermione said, standing back to back with Malik, both of them zapping the pixies that came close with a Freezing Charm before tossing them into their cage.

"_Hands on!"_ Harry exclaimed, him and Yuugi trying to grab a pixie that was just out of range.

"Admit it, Hermione," Atemu said, nailing one of them with a book, "he didn't have a clue as to what he was doing."

"Nonsense," she replied, "you've read his books. Look at all the amazing things he's done."

"He _says_ he's done," Malik grumbled.

-.oOOo.-

Harry spent the next few days trying everything he could to stay away from Lockhart every time he saw him in the halls. That was not easy, however, as Colin Creevey had become his personal shadow, tailing him around with his camera flashing almost constantly. Yuugi and Malik were usually around to help him out, ducking him away into side passages and hidden corridors.

The weekend was a relief, though Atemu was woken up much earlier than he normally would have by soft whispers coming from Harry's bed. He blearily poked his head out from the curtains of his four-poster bed, only to see Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, half dragging the young wizard out of bed. He raised an eyebrow, before twisting about and burying his head back into his pillow.

The pharaoh was dragged out from under his nice and warm covers a few hours later by his other half, forced to get his rear-end in gear or miss precious breakfast. Bakura pounced on him almost as soon as he came to the Great Hall, having spent most of the week hiding behind his outer self.

"Missed you," he murmured, slipping a discreet kiss on Atemu's forehead that made him blush.

They all ate together, even managing to drag Seto away from his computer (which had Flitwick's charm placed on it in order for it to work in the school) and shove a piece of toast down his throat, before heading out to the Quidditch field (again, dragging Kaiba along with them). They arrived just in time to see Harry and the rest of the team emerging from the prep room.

"Aren't you done yet?" Ron called.

"Just started," Harry shouted back.

They all exchanged looks as Seto grunted, sitting down and typing away at his computer. They all settled down (Bakura pulling Atemu onto his lap before he could get the chance to sit), watching as the players took to the air for practice. All was going over well, until…

"What the bloody hell are _they _doing here?" Hermione grumbled, drawing the other's attention to the small group of people in green and black robes walking onto the field. Wood spotted them a moment later, and the Gryffindor team descended a moment later.

"This is going to get ugly," Atemu murmured, slipping off Bakura's lap. The others followed behind him a moment later (Kaiba reluctantly closing his laptop), arriving just in time to hear Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team captain, mutter something about a field invasion.

"What the hell is…" Malik began, before trailing off, eyeing the newest addition to the Slytherin team, as well as the shiny new brooms they all had. "You poser," he accused, pointing at Malfoy. "And how lame! Buying your way onto a team is so… so… American."

Hermione shook her head in exasperation as Yuugi spoke up. "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to sink so low. They got in on actual _talent."_

The smirk on Draco's face flinched. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy mudblood."

Yuugi had no idea what Draco said was so offensive. However, if the way Fred and George nearly jumped on him, and the obscenities that the girls of the team were shouting were any indication, it had to have been pretty bad. Ron tore his wand out, and was pointing it at Draco before anyone could stop him.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy!"

The wand actually went off as it was supposed to, the spell lancing out, going under Marcus Flint's arm to hit Draco… but something strange happened then. There was a brief, black shimmer as the spell hit the pale boy… before it was reflected right back at Ron, hitting him in the chest and knocking him back into Seto and sending them both onto the grass.

"You all right?" Kaiba grunted, pushing him off his lap, keeping an arm on him. Ron opened his mouth to answer… only to let out a mighty belch, several slugs falling out of his mouth and plopping down onto his lap.

The resulting disgusted noise from Seto was drowned out as the Slytherins howled with laughter. The Gryffindors crowed around Ron, though many of them seemed reluctant to touch him as he continued to burp out slugs.

"We'll take him to Hagrid's house; it's closest," Harry declared, looking to Malik and Hermione. They both made a face, but helped Harry get Ron to his feet.

They led him off, the others of their group following a bit behind as Wood continued his argument with Flint (or tried to; the fact that he was laughing so hard made yelling at him difficult). Atemu and Bakura trailed a bit behind, however, carefully avoiding the slugs that Ron had burped up.

"Did you see what I see?" Atemu asked softly as the tomb robber slipped an arm around him.

"Do you mean… did I see a bit of Darkness suddenly appear and protect Malfoy from Ron's spell?" he replied sarcastically.

"Right," the pharaoh replied. "I think we've found our Millennium Item thief."


	5. The Voice from Nowhere

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

No, I _don't _know where the inspiration to write has been coming from!

Ahem... with that said, enjoy the next chapter. :D

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE – THE VOICE FROM NO WHERE**

Atemu grumbled to himself as he made his way to the Great hall that night. Malfoy… he really had sunk to a new low by stealing the Scales, but that was not the only thing. Zork gone or not, the Items were still dangerous, especially to someone that did not have a clue as to what they were capable of. If Malfoy tried to use it…

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he nearly collided with a rather moody Professor McGonagall. She fixed him with a cold look before reaching into a pocket a pulling out a piece of paper: his Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Atemu fought back a nervous gulp.

"Mr. Mutou," she began, "did you or your other self write this?"

"Uh… I… uhhh… Professor, please, I can explain… I think…" he stammered.

McGonagall held up a hand, cutting him off. "Thank you," she said wearily. "It was the best laugh I had in quite a long time, but don't do it again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have detentions to hand out."

Atemu blinked, watching her leave, before letting out a sigh of relief. He was a hair's breadth away from a detention just then. Thank gods McGonagall had a sense of humor tucked away in her.

-.oOOo.-

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly, scribbling the address for Veronica Smethley while fighting back a yawn. It was a futile effort though, considering he had had to get up at the crack of dawn for Quidditch practice, and now had to listen to Lockhart ramble on and on. He and Ron had received their detentions for flying the Weasley's Ford Anglia into the Whomping Willow at the beginning of the week, and he _unfortunately_ had to help Lockhart answer his fan mail, while Ron only had to help Filch polish the trophies in the Trophy Room.

Though, now that he thought about it, Ron probably ended up with the greater of the two evils. He was still burping out slugs on occasion last he checked.

Harry reluctantly went to grab another envelope, when a cold, chilling voice reached his ears over Lockhart's annoying prattle.

_Come… come to me… Let me rip you… Let me tear you… Let me kill you…_

He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. Even Lockhart noticed the terrified look on his face.

"My good boy, what's troubling you?" he asked.

"Can't you hear that?" he asked.

Lockhart frowned. "I think you've been working with me too long, Harry," he said. "Why don't you go up to your common room and get some sleep."

Confused, and straining to hear the voice again, Harry got up and left. He kept an ear near the walls as he made his way back to the common room, still listening for any word from the voice. He was so preoccupied with his strange activity, that he did not notice Malfoy coming down the other way until he crashed into him.

"Bloody hell, Potter!" he snapped, steadying himself. "Watch where you're going!"

Harry was about shout back at him, when the voice came again.

…_rip… tear… kill…_

What little color was in Malfoy's face quickly disappeared.

"That… that's not in my head. What is that!" he exclaimed. Harry blinked in surprised, not quite sure what Draco meant about the voice not being in his head, but…

"You can hear it too?"

"Of course I can hear it!" Malfoy snapped.

…_so hungry… for so long…_

The two boys spun around, trying to find a source for the voice.

"Where the devil is it coming from?" Malfoy demanded.

"Shush!" Harry snapped, straining to hear… but the voice had gone. Harry let out an annoyed noise, turning to Draco… before he frowned. He did not look good at all, like he had not slept all week. Dark circles hung under his eyes, and he seemed to be so weary.

"You all right?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Draco gave him an irritated look. "It's none of your damn business!" he snapped, storming off. Harry stared after him, before shaking his head, heading back toward Gryffindor Tower.

-.oOOo.-

September flew away in a blur, and before Yuugi knew it, he was staring outside the library window at a very wet and dreary October day, trying to see if he could spot Harry out above the Quidditch field. This was why he never wanted to get into sports; to even have to go out on a horrible day like today…

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a loud sneeze, turning to see his other half pull a handkerchief out of his back pocket and blow his nose. Ryou sweatdropped, looking like he was mentally berating his other half as Seto gave the pharaoh an annoyed look.

"Would you go to Madam Pomfrey already?" he snapped. "Her Pepperup potion will take care of that."

Atemu shoved his handkerchief back in his back pocket. "I rather not have smoke coming out of my ears like some kind of stupid cartoon."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, going back to the book he was poring over.

"Besides, we've got more things to worry about," the pharaoh continued, lowering his voice. "Malfoy's had the Scales for the past month. I'm sure you've seen the result."

"He looked like hell just after a week with the thing," Ryou replied. "I can't even imagine why he hasn't snapped yet."

"Pride," Kaiba grunted distractedly, getting sweatdrops from the other three in response.

_He'd know, _Bakura grumbled in his other half's head.

"I'd have grabbed the Scales back awhile ago, if we could just get—"

Atemu was cut off, letting out another sneeze that made Ryou and Seto jump back, as he failed to cover his mouth in time to prevent them from an impromptu bath.

"Dammit…!" Kaiba growled as Ryou stood up, switching places with the tomb robber as he did so.

"Okay, that's it," Bakura declared, hopping over the table (Yuugi let out a yelp, protecting his homework). He went right over to Atemu, pulling him up out of his seat and forcing him to move. "You're going to go get that potion even if I have to cram it down your throat myself."

Atemu let out a sound of protest. "Aibou! Kaiba!"

Yuugi sighed softly. "Kaiba-kun, do you have your transfiguration book?"

Seto grunted, handing the book over as Atemu sweatdropped. "Thanks a lo—"

He was cut off by another sneeze as Bakura pushed him out the door of the library. Yuugi and Seto continued their studying as if nothing happened, before the later finally spoke up.

"What would happen if the Scales were meant for Malfoy?"

Yuugi looked up, surprised, before frowning in thought. "I… honestly have no idea. I can't imagine any of the Items being for someone like Malfoy though…"

An eyebrow rose. "Need I remind you of how we first encountered Ishtar? And Pegasus?"

Yuugi sweatdropped. "Good point…"

Seto nodded. "We should be cautious. We don't want another psycho imprisoning people's souls on the loose."

-.oOOo.-

Atemu was freed from Madam Pomfrey's grasp (with his ears still a bit red from all the steam) just in time for lunch. He sat down, looking grateful that he was able to do something without a certain white haired thief clinging to him and petting his head.

"I should get him a puppy," he finished, once Malik stopped laughing.

"I don't think the professors would allow Jounouchi in the school," the Gravekeeper replied flippantly. "It's just… weird. I mean, I'd expect you to be the one to cling to Bakura constantly with him trying to pry you off with a crow bar. Not the other way around."

"Don't get me wrong," Atemu said as Harry, Ron, and Hermione came into the room, "I feel really comfortable when he's holding me. Much more than I ever thought I would. But when I have steam pouring out of my ears, I'd prefer it if everyone stayed a few feet away from me."

"I'll keep that in mind," Malik replied, sliding over a bit to give Hermione some room to sit.

"What are you two going on about?" Ron asked as he and Harry took a seat on the other side of the table.

"The trials and tribulations of the hopelessly romantic," Malik provided, getting Atemu to roll his eyes. "What's up with you guys?"

"Sir Nicholas invited me to his Death Day party," Harry replied, which drew the expected confused stares.

"It's a sort of holiday for ghosts," Hermione provided, "where they celebrate the day they died."

Atemu dropped his fork, looking horrified. "Who would want to celebrate _that!"_

"I bet it's _exciting _though!" Hermione exclaimed, looking like she had gotten a perfect score on a test. "I imagine not many living people have ever been to one. I want to come too."

"Sounds dead depressing to me," Ron replied, poking at his lunch.

"Agreed," the pharaoh said. "Count me out."

"But we could learn something interesting about the ghosts in this castle!" Hermione protested. Atemu just gave her a look of ever so slightly strained patience.

"Hermione, I've _been _dead. It's not something I want to celebrate."

-.oOOo.-

Halloween festivities were as magnificent as they always were at Hogwarts, though Draco took it all in stride. Of course he did; all he was there for was his fill of the magnificent food that he only got to see once a year. That was, of course, when it was not being devoured by his two thickheaded bodyguards.

He rubbed his eyes as Crabbe snatched yet another slice of pumpkin pie. Things probably would have been more enjoyable if he had actually been able to see the inside of his eyelids more than once a week. Ever since he had taken that scales from Mutou, his nights had been plagued with nothing but horrible nightmares. Those red eyes… they haunted him… tormented him… He could even see them when he was awake sometimes, staring at him…

"Hey, boss, you're not eating…" Goyle said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Because unlike you muscle heads, I don't need to consume my own body weight to survive," Draco snapped irritably, before standing up, muttering something about going to bed as he left.

Unfortunately, bed was going to be a long dream away. No sooner had he left the Great Hall, did he find himself staring at two heads of multicolored hair. He looked down to see both Mutous… and then to the side to see Ishtar and Kaiba and Bakura as well.

Surrounded. Wonderful.

"Out of my way, mudblood," he snapped at Yuugi in annoyance.

"Not until you give it back," Yuugi replied firmly.

"Give _what _back?"

"You know what," Atemu replied, crossing his arms. "The Millennium Scales. Give them here."

Draco's lip twitched, annoyed at being caught, especially with this kind of opposition. Anyone with half a brain was smart enough to be afraid of Ryou's other half, and Kaiba… well, he looked like he could take on Crabbe and Goyle without any help, physical or otherwise. He growled softly under his breath, before reaching into his robes, taking out the Scales.

"Take the bloody things! They've caused me nothing but trouble!" he snapped, throwing them at Yuugi's feet…

…or, at least, _trying _to.

He shook his hand franticly, golden scales swinging back and forth, trying desperately to get the shaft to part from his hand. No matter what he did, it would not budge, as if someone had glued it to his skin.

"Bloody hell, Mutou," he swore. "This is all your fault!"

Yuugi blinked. _"My _fault? You're the one that _stole _the thing! I mean… who's stupid enough to steal a dangerous magical golden object?"

There was a pause, before all eyes (with the exception of Draco's) turned to Bakura…

"Oh, shut up," the tomb robber growled. He stomped over to Malfoy, seizing the shaft in an effort to help pull the thing away, only to jump away a moment later, his hand red and blistering where he had grabbed the Item.

"No good," he replied, wincing. "He's stuck with it."

Atemu groaned, covering his face with a hand as Draco looked between them. "What the bloody hell does that mean!"

"It means you're now a permanent member of the Millennium Item club," Malik replied sarcastically. "The benefits suck, and there's a pretty good chance the dark side of yourself will manifest and start sucking people's souls into the Darkness. Oh, yeah, and the voices in your head are wonderful conversationalists, even though they've been dead for three thousand years."

"Voice in my head?" Draco repeated, paling. He had heard a voice that night in September… but Potter had heard it too, so it had not been—

…_rip… tear… kill…_

Draco froze solid, ignoring the stares he was getting. The voice! It was back, and it definitely was not coming from his head. He dashed over to the nearby wall, listening for the low, cold voice. He heard it again, moving up and away… down along the corridor…

He sprinted down the hall, ignoring Mutou as he shouted after him, knowing by the pounding of their footsteps a moment later that they were following him. That voice… what was it? Did it have to do with the Scales, or was it something else…?

…_I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!_

He felt his breath freeze up in his chest, forcing himself to keep going. It was going to kill someone this time! He was sure about it! Darting up a nearby staircase and down another hall, he did not stop until he nearly slipped on a massive puddle on the floor, flailing to regain his balance, and probably would have ended up rather wet if it were not for a hand grabbing his shoulder. He glanced back at Kaiba, though his attention was soon drawn away to the wall before them…

Something was shining on it, and the seven of them approached slowly, squinting in the dim light to see it better. Foot high words glared out at them, looking eerily like blood in the torchlight…

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN  
OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Draco swallowed slightly, as the sound of footsteps coming from the other direction met their ears. Harry, Ron, and Hermione – back from the Death Day party – came into the light a moment later, the later two gasping for breath as Potter eyed him.

"You heard it too?" he asked after a moment.

"It was rather hard to miss," Draco replied with a sniff, looking back to the letters. "Who the bloody hell is doing this?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, when Hermione suddenly screamed. Everyone turned to her, before following her gaze up to something just above the words…

There, hanging from a torch bracket by her tail, was Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat. She was stiff as a board, and her creepy red eyes looked like they were bugging out of her head.

"We-we better get out of here," Ron stammered.

"For once, we're in agreement, Weasel," Draco growled, already starting to back up.

"Shouldn't we try and help…?" Yuugi suggested, though he too was backing up.

"Believe me, we don't want to be found he—"

Draco was cut off, in the middle of turning around to leave, when he nearly smacked into Argus Filch. He let out a squeak of surprise before backing up, nearly slipping on the wet floor again. Filch was hardly paying him any heed; he had seen what was left of Mrs. Norris.

"My cat!" he exclaimed suddenly. "You brats murdered my cat!"


	6. A Little Detective Work

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

...I have no words. Enjoy. XD

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX – A LITTLE DETECTIVE WORK**

Before any of them knew it, the headmaster had arrived, along with some of the other professors, and their little group (plus one Malfoy) was whisked off to Lockhart's office. Hermione kept wringing her hands in nervousness, while Draco positively fumed. He could not believe he got caught up with this riff-raff; no doubt Filch would blame them all, and he would be packing his bags before the end of the night. Maybe if he were lucky, he would be able to move off to Bulgaria and attend another magic school with his cousin… assuming his father did not kill him for this.

Their group was forced to stand in a corner by Professor Snape and McGonagall, while Mrs. Norris was set down on Lockhart's desk. Dumbledore hovered over her, inspecting the cat closely as the pretty boy teacher kept prattling on about a Transmogrifian Torture and how he had saved a village from it and other such nonsense. Kaiba twitched a few times in annoyance, before he finally snapped.

"Oh, shut up!" he growled, making Lockhart come to a stuttering halt. McGonagall tried very hard to give Seto a reprimanding look, though she seemed far too amused to pull it off.

A moment later, Dumbledore straightened himself, before announcing softly, "She's not dead, Argus."

Lockhart looked scandalized as Filch's lip quivered.

"Not dead?" he repeated. "But why is she… she all stiff like that?"

"She's been petrified," Dumbledore replied, a sort of "Ah-ha! I knew that," look coming to Lockhart's face at that. "But by what, I do not know…"

"Ask him!" Filch suddenly roared, pointing a finger at Harry. "He's the one that did this!"

"No second year could have done this, Argus," the headmaster replied. "It requires much skill in the dark ar—"

"He did it, I know he did it!" Filch bellowed. "He knows! He knows I'm a… a… a Squib!"

That did not exactly have the effect Filch was undoubting hoping for.

"What the hell's a Squib?" Bakura asked dully.

"What he said," Harry replied as Draco snorted back a laugh.

"Don't give me that!" Filch snapped. "I know you saw my Kwikspell letter!"

"If I may, headmaster…" Snape suddenly spoke up. Harry could feel the cloud of doom suddenly come over them. "It could just be that Potter and his friends were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

They exchanged worried glances. Snape? Coming to their defense…?

"Though I find it odd…" Snape continued, and the doom cloud fell ever closer, "that they were in the upstairs corridor, when they should have been at the party."

"We were just arriving when we bumped into Malfoy," Yuugi said quickly. Well, it was sort of true… minus the whole lying in wait for him to come out part.

"I left early," Draco quickly picked up before he could stop himself. "Wasn't in the mood for it; haven't gotten much sleep."

Snape raised an eyebrow at Draco, not sure how to take his defense, before his gaze shifted to Harry.

"And… you three…?"

Hermione shook as Harry answered, "We were at Sir Nicholas' Death Day party."

"We weren't very hungry afterwards; we just wanted to go to bed," Ron added… just as his stomach grumbled, drawing a rather nasty sneer out of Snape. Dumbledore, giving him a look over his half moon spectacles before shifting his gaze over to Harry, quickly diminished it however. Harry squirmed slightly where he stood, uncomfortable under his gaze…

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," the headmaster said finally, before nodding to their group. "You may go."

They did not stay long enough to see the enraged look on Snape's face, darting out of the office and down the corridor. Once they were one floor up from Lockhart's office, dragging Malfoy along with them the whole time, they darted into an empty classroom. Draco shrugged them off, glaring at them in the darkness.

"Haven't you gotten me into enough trouble tonight!" he snarled in annoyance.

"Malfoy, _you're _the one that started acting weird and running off," Malik reminded him… drawing a rather confused look from the pale boy.

"You mean… you didn't hear that voice?" he asked.

"We didn't hear anything either when Harry started acting weird," Ron provided.

Draco and Harry exchanged confused looks. "You think we should have said something?" the later asked.

"Absolutely not," Malfoy snapped. "Are you dense? Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good thing."

Atemu leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "This is getting very, very weird," he stated.

"The whole thing is weird," Harry agreed. "And what about that writing on the wall? 'The chamber has been opened'. What's that all about?"

"It sounds familiar…" Ron began.

"It ruddy well should," Malfoy snapped. "The Chamber of Secrets?"

An enlightened look appeared on Ron's face as Hermione crossed her arms.

"That's just a myth."

"It's no myth, you stupid mudblood," Draco snapped.

Ron looked about ready to explode, but Bakura beat him to it. He grabbed the pale boy by his hair; yanking on it and forcing his head back painfully.

"Let's keep the insults to a minimum, shall we? O mighty owner of the Scales?" he added with a sneer, getting a rather glowering look from the boy before he let go. "Now, mind on enlightening the rest of us?"

Draco gave him a terse look, before explaining, "I don't know much about it myself; Professor Binns would know more. All I know is it was a secret chamber made by Salazar Slytherin back when he was cast out of the school, and the last time it was opened fifty some-odd years ago, someone _died."_

"Died…?" Yuugi echoed, eyes widening. "If it's that dangerous, why hasn't someone tried to find it and close it up for good?"

"No one's been able to," Draco replied. "They can't even find it."

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, before a clock chimed somewhere in the distance.

"Midnight…" Harry announced. "Let's go before Snape finds something else to frame us with."

-.oOOo.-

Detective work started almost immediately the next morning when everyone gathered together at the library for their normal study session. While Ron was busy trying to figure out how he was going to add another eight inches to his History of Magic homework, Hermione was flitting about in an effort to find more information on the Chamber of Secrets. Malik was "helping" her, though judging from the occasional harsh word they heard from the two of them, he was probably complaining about her affection with Lockhart. Seto smirked after a particularly scathing remark, looking over his own History of Magic homework before rolling the scroll up.

"The way he's going, if Ishtar's lucky, him and Hermione might still be friends by the end of the semester," he commented dryly.

Ryou just shook his head. "I don't know why he tries so hard," he said. "When's he going to get it through his head that she's only star-struck over Lockhart?"

Atemu smirked, rolling up his own homework. "You've obviously never been in love before."

Ryou pointed an accusing finger at Kaiba. "And he has?" the white haired boy shot back, frowning. "I'll get a girlfriend when I'm good and ready. I'm in no rush."

"Ditto," Yuugi agreed, measuring his homework. Four and a half feet: _way_ over what he needed. He smiled, satisfied, as he rolled up the scroll. Ron eyed his homework.

"Hey, Yuugi, can I copy some of yours?" he asked.

"No way," Yuugi declared. He absolutely _never_ let anyone copy from him, even back in high school when Jounouchi would practically get on his hands and knees and beg. "Ask Kaiba-kun."

"Seto…?"

"Ask Bakura."

"Ryou…?"

"Ask Atemu."

"Atemu…?"

"Ask Harry."

"Harry…?"

Harry fixed him with a sour look. "Who do you think I copied from?"

Ron banged his head on the table. "Dammit…"

Just then, Hermione and Malik rejoined them, both of them with sour looks on their faces and refusing to look at each other. Harry raised an eyebrow at their behavior, amused.

"Well, find anything?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No," she answered, "all the copies of _Hogwarts, A History_ are checked out. I couldn't fit my copy with all the Lockhart books; I had to leave it at home. Unless you brought yours, Ryou?"

"Sorry," he replied. "I totally forgot about it. Can't you have your parents send it to you?"

She sighed. "I can just picture my parents trying to use the owl post…"

"You're not going to find it in there anyway," came a rather annoyed sounding voice. Draco emerged from behind a bookcase, looking rather harried as he went over to their table and flopped down beside Yuugi. "The Chamber of Secrets has been reduced to nothing more than a myth. It's not going to be in any factual book," he added, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Great, so we're chasing shadows," Atemu replied as Yuugi handed Draco a piece of candy ("It'll help you stay awake.").

Ron groaned suddenly. "Hermione, can I see your scroll? I only need two more inches!"

"No way," she said, her tone severe. "Ask Malik."

"Malik…?"

"Ask Malfoy."

Ron looked to Draco, who narrowed his eyes at him.

"Are you really _that _bloody desperate?"

Ron gave up at that point, stuffing the scroll in to his bag.

-.oOOo.-

While the others went off to the greenhouses on Monday mornings, Seto was stuck in double History of Magic with Slytherin. Under normal circumstances, he would be the only one awake, scribbling away notes while the rest of the class dozed. That day, however, he just could not concentrate to save his life. His mind kept wandering to the strange message that had been left on the wall, and what it all meant. He found his gaze drifting idly toward Malfoy, who had passed out ages ago, looking like he was being plagued by some rather disturbing dreams.

Kaiba was about to put his head down and perhaps join the rest of the class in catching up on some sleep, when he became aware of something shuffling around. He rolled his eyes before retreating to the Soul Corridor within his mind. He saw his other half's rear end sticking out from his Soul Door, and judging from the sound he was making, he was trying to sort through something.

_You're being awfully loud, you know,_ Kaiba said, crossing his arms as his usual smirk appeared on his face. The priest Seto craned his neck around to fix his light half with an annoyed glare.

_Well excuse me, baka omote,_ he replied. _I'm looking through my memories, trying to find some kind of clues about the Chamber of Secrets._

Kaiba sweatdropped. _Uh… priest. Do you need a reminder?_ he asked. _You've been imprisoned in a rod for three thousand years. Hogwarts was founded only a thousand years ago. I don't think you're going to find anything._

The priest fixed his lighter half with a frustrated look. He hated it when he was right.

_Well, fine then,_ he replied, standing up straight. _Why don't you ask Mr. Binns? He's the history teacher… ghost… thingy. Malfoy even said he would probably know more about it._

Kaiba had to admit, he had forgotten about that. He left his Soul Corridor and returned to the real world, raising his hand as soon as he did so. Mr. Binns sputtered his explanation to a halt, surprised that someone would even want to interrupt him.

"Yes, Mr.…"

"Kaiba, sir," he answered, lowering his hand. A lot of students stirred, surprised by the sudden change of things. Not only was someone interrupting Mr. Binns, but it was _Seto_ who was doing it! "I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets."

The ghostly professor seemed to frown. "My subject is History of Magic, Mr. Kaiba," he replied. "I deal with solid _facts,_ not myths and legends."

He was about to start droning on again, but Seto would not let him get away with it. He raised his hand again; bringing Mr. Binns to another stuttered halt.

"Sir, don't myths and legends always have basis in fact?" he asked.

Mr. Binns stared at him a bit stupidly. Apparently, no one had ever cared to interrupt him in anything, alive or dead.

"Well… I _suppose_ one could argue that…" he mused. "But the tale you speak of is so absolutely _ludicrous_ that…"

At this point, the whole class (with the exception of Draco) was awake, hanging on his every word. Mr. Binns stared at all of them, caught off guard by the sudden show of interest. He threw up his hands, giving in.

"Oh, very well," he snapped. "Let me see… the Chamber of Secrets…

"You all know, of course," the professor began, "that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago – the precise date is uncertain – by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when common people feared magic, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grown between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more _selective_ about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused a moment at that, a sour look coming to his pale face.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he continued. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.

"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

Seto had been furiously writing everything down until that point. He stared up from his parchment, fearing what that implied.

"Professor, what exactly _is_ the 'horror within' the Chamber?" he asked.

"It is said to be a monster, which only Slytherin could control," Binns answered.

The professor started ranting about how it was all a ridiculous legend, but Kaiba was not paying attention. A monster only Salazar Slytherin could control… Slytherin… slither… a snake perhaps? What kind of snake could petrify someone though…?

The bell rang not that long after, and the class quickly vacated the room… except for Draco, who was still twitching uncomfortably atop his desk. Kaiba raised an eyebrow, before going over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking him away. Draco shot up with a jolt, eyes wide as he looked about franticly, before he finally melted down into his seat.

"I can't take much more of this…" he bemoaned, covering his face with his hands.

"What have you been seeing?" came Kaiba's voice… but it was slightly different. Draco looked up between his hands to see that the normally stoic young man's features had softened somewhat. Obviously, he was speaking with someone else now.

"Just… images. Blurred images. Sometimes a voice, but never anything coherent… except for those red eyes… they're the only thing that makes sense in my dreams," Draco answered after a moment.

The high priest frowned. Red eyes… gods, he hoped those red eyes did not belong to what he was thinking of. He rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tight and giving him a serious look.

"Listen to me, Draco," he stated sternly. "I know you don't want to have anything to do with this. I think in a way, none of us did. Now that you're saddled with it, however, you've got to become accepting of it. You've got to open your heart to what the Scales are trying to show you, no matter how much it hurts. If you don't, these dreams are going to continue until you go mad and the Scales no longer have a use for you…"


	7. The Rogue Bludger

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

Okay, so there goes my daily updates. XD Erm... just take into account the longer chapter.**

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN – THE ROGUE BLUDGER**

The Saturday following was the first Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Harry woke up that day looking rather sick; not only was he to be going up against a team that had someone on it who was teetering back and forth on whether or not he should be a friendly "good guy" or not, but said team was also using the greatest and fastest brooms available. The way he felt right now, it would be a miracle if he would be able to stay upright on his broom.

Malik looked over to him from where he was making his bed, tossing him a grin. "Aw, c'mon, Harry," he said. "Lighten up. It's just a game; win or lose, the point is to have fun."

"Easy for you to say," Harry replied weakly, waiting for him to finish, before heading downstairs with him. "You've never played this game."

"Hey, all games are the same in their own respects," the Egyptian replied, giving him a rather sagely nod… before he suddenly panicked. "Yuugi! What are you doing!"

Harry followed Malik's gaze, to see that Yuugi and Atemu were plopped down on a couch before the fire, eyeing the three remaining (and glowing) Millennium Items spread out before them on the coffee table. The Gravekeeper looked about at the other people in the common room, before dashing over to the two of them.

"I _seriously _think having the Items out in the open like this is a _bad _idea," he hissed as Harry caught up to him.

Yuugi just waved a dismissive hand. "Half of Gryffindor has figured out that we have these anyway," he said, pointing to the Items as Malik fumed. "Look at this. The Eye isn't glowing as brightly as the Tauk and Ankh."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"I think it might mean that whomever is to obtain the Eye next isn't that close, but still in this building," Atemu explained. "However, the future owners of the Tauk and Ankh are _very _close. Maybe even in this roo—"

"Oh, how pretty!"

Before Atemu could finish, the four of them were staring at an empty spot where the Tauk had been. The pharaoh's head shot up, eyes widening as he saw Hermione holding up the necklace, looking it over. His mouth was opened to protest, though what he wanted to say died quickly…

…the Tauk had stopped glowing…

Hermione let out an "Hmmm…" noise as the glow dimmed away, the four boys staring at her like she had grown another head.

"Can I try it on?" she asked suddenly.

"Sure…" Yuugi said weakly as Malik discreetly shuffled behind her…

No sooner had she fastened the clasp about her neck, did the Tauk start glowing again. Hermione's eyes widened, obviously seeing something that they could not. A moment later her legs shook, and she fell back, landing in Malik's waiting arms. He let out a sigh, picking Hermione up in his arms as Harry looked at her worriedly.

"Is she going to be all right?" he asked.

"Should be," Malik replied. "I'll stay here with her until she wakes up."

"I'll ask Bakura to bring you up some food," Atemu said. "I don't think he'll have a problem with stealing something."

"Of course not," Malik said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "He probably hates being so domesticated."

"Domesticated?" Harry asked as the Gravekeeper went over to sit down on a chair. Malik just grinned, waving toward Atemu, who turned a rather vivid red.

-.oOOo.-

Bakura held up a platter loaded down with breakfast foods, fixing the portrait of the fat lady in a pink dress that guarded the entrance to Gryffindor tower. The painting did not like him, at all, probably because he had a habit of visiting during the late night hours. Hey, he had his needs to; he hardly got to see Atemu this year, even though him and Ryou shared a class. So what if he went in sometimes to watch him sleep? There was nothing wrong with that!

"C'mon," he growled, "I gave you the password several times already. So what if I'm in Hufflepuff? Open the damn door!"

The lady opened her mouth to protest, when the portrait swung open on it's own, revealing Malik on the other side.

"Thanks, tomb robber," he said, reaching for the platter, which Bakura more than happily handed over.

"Take it easy, Gravekeeper," he replied, crossing his arms. "I can't believe this… first Draco, now Hermione… Why can't those damn things just leave people alone?"

"Dunno…" Malik replied. "Just gotta… let it go, watch, and see what happens I guess."

Bakura nodded, returning the Gravekeeper's wave and watching as the portrait swung close.

"There, see?" he sneered at the painting, turning and heading off, sniggering as he heard her start to grumble under her breath.

He went all the way down to the school entrance, where he saw Atemu arguing with Filch, who had been rather irritable since his cat was petrified.

"I tell you, I'm waiting for someone!" Atemu exclaimed.

"Sure you are…" Filch growled, looking like he was going to grab the pharaoh by the ear and drag him off. Bakura decided to slip in before that could happen, coming up beside Atemu and wrapping a possessive arm around him as he gave the caretaker a, "don't touch what's mine" look.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, love," he purred, shuffling Atemu off before Filch can get in two words.

"Thanks…" the pharaoh murmured once they were out of earshot.

Bakura just grinned. "Of course. Wouldn't want him getting his hands on you." His grin faded a bit though; Atemu seemed rather… preoccupied… "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Atemu attempted to give him an annoyed look, but it fell rather flat. A moment later Bakura was forced to a stop: the pharaoh had latched himself around his waist.

"Now I know something's wrong," he said, prying him off a bit. "What is it?"

Atemu sighed, before… "Bakura, am I… cramping you?"

The tomb robber gave him a blank stare. "Are you what?"

"It's… stupid," he replied, unwrapping himself from him. "Malik said you've been domesticated because of me. I just…"

Bakura rolled his eyes, grabbing him and holding him close. "Pharaoh, don't be like that," he stated. "If anyone's 'domesticating' me, it's Ryou. And trust me, I'm far from domesticated."

Atemu's lip crept up to a smile. "Sorry for being so silly…"

"S'all right," Bakura said, starting off with him again toward the Quidditch field. "I expect you to be silly every now and again."

That earned him a punch in the arm, but Atemu hardly effort behind it. He snuggled close to Bakura as they came up to the stadium, walking up the steps together and parting a moment to make their way to the Gryffindor stands. Just as they came to Yuugi and the other's row, the whole crowd let out a gasp of horror. Bakura craned his neck up to the player's above…

"Uh-oh," he muttered.

"What is it?" Atemu asked, squinting up at them as well.

"Harry's in trouble again."

-.oOOo.-

Harry was hovering above the field as always, trying to ignore Malfoy, who was ignorantly showing off the speed of his new broom. He was so engrossed in trying to find the Snitch that he did not notice the Bludger coming toward him. It was more like he _sensed_ something was wrong, and upon acting on that sense he was able to just barely dodge the flying black ball. Harry straightened his broom out as it sailed by him, letting out a sigh of relief as he did so.

"All right there, Harry?" George asked, hitting the Bludger off toward one of the Slytherin chasers.

"I'm fine!" Harry shouted back.

He was not going to be fine for long, though, as the Bludger suddenly looped around and headed straight for him once again. That time he nearly fell off his broom trying to avoid it. Fred came up as the ball soared by him, whacking the offending object right toward Malfoy, who was more than ready to dodge it. The pale boy did not have to, however; he stared in shock and surprise as the Bludger spun around in mid air and headed straight for Harry for a third time.

Harry did the only thing he could think of then. He shot off about the stadium at full speed, the Bludger trailing dangerously close behind. Fred and George followed as quickly as they could, trying to keep the insane ball from killing him.

"Someone's fixed this thing!" Fred exclaimed, smacking it away, only to have it fall in line behind Harry again. The young seeker was not paying attention though. He had caught sight of something near Malfoy, who was too busy watching their efforts to avoid the Bludger to notice it. Something small and gold…

Without warning the Weasley twins, Harry shot off toward the Golden Snitch, making it look like he was purposefully leading the ball toward the snobbish rich boy. Malfoy let out a shout of surprise before dodging out of the way just in time. He caught sight of what Harry had truly been after, however, and a growl escaped from his mouth before he flew after him, quickly pulling up to him with his superior broom. Harry hardly noticed, though; he was too concerned with catching the Snitch and ending the game before he got killed.

The Golden Snitch led them down into a long trench that surrounded the entire field. It was a dangerous area to fly through, with maze of supports that helped hold up the stands crisscrossing it, not to mention with a rogue Bludger on their tail and pulling off the speeds they were doing. Each time Malfoy would gain a lead on the Snitch, somehow Harry would pull off some odd maneuver or put out just enough speed to pull even with him.

After a moment, Draco looked back, trying to see what the Bludger was doing. It was closing in on Harry at a very fast rate. The only problem was, the stupid scar-head was so focused on the Snitch that he did not even notice it. He swore under his breath, hardly believing what he was going to do. He slammed into Harry, pushing him out of the way.

"You catch that Snitch or I'll rip your bloody throat out!" he managed to shout, before hitting the brakes. Harry soared ahead while he fell back… right into the Bludger.

Things seemed to go slow at the moment. Draco could see the Bludger smash through the tail of his brand new broom. He felt himself lurch up, and he tilted to the side, trying to get it so he would not hit a beam as he was tossed up into the air like catapult ammo. He sailed through the air, narrowly missing a support before he landed on the sandy ground above. The last thing he heard was the sound of something cracking in his arm before he promptly passed out.

Down in the trench, Harry gripped the handle of his broom, gritting his teeth. He knew what Draco had done for him; he could not _believe_ it, but he was aware of it. Just his luck, now he owed him one. He pushed the thought out of his head for the moment; the Snitch was heading up out of the trench and back to the open field. He followed it, so close he could almost see the intricate carvings that decorated it. Holding onto the broom tightly, he reached out an arm…

_WHAM!_

The mad Bludger came out of nowhere, smashing into his outstretched arm. There was a horrible snapping sound as his arm bent back at an odd angle. The pain was excruciating, but Harry somehow managed to ignore it, wrapping the now useless arm painfully around the broom before reaching out with the other arm. He made a mad grab for the Snitch, and he felt the ball in his hand just before he slipped off the broom, falling straight for the ground.

Harry tucked in on himself, protecting both his injured arm and the hand that held the Snitch as he landed on the sandy ground near a semi-conscious Malfoy. He recovered his bearings a moment, holding up the Snitch so Madam Hooch could see it and declare the match a win for Gryffindor. The whistle rang throughout the stadium, and Harry turned his attention to the pale boy, shaking his shoulder slightly.

"Hey, you all right?" he asked. Malfoy looked up at him, bleary-eyed, kind of looking like Harry felt at that moment.

"D'ya get it?" he asked, a bit drowsily. Harry showed him the Snitch and he grunted, as if he was not pleased that Gryffindor won, but grateful the insane match was over all the same. He sat up slightly, nursing his own broken arm.

"I bloody hell never want to do that again," he commented, a bit breathlessly.

"Unh-hunh," Harry agreed as their teams came rushing toward them, the Gryffindor team with the added bonus of his friends. Someone from each team tried to lift their respective seekers, but each of them let out a shout of pain, and the effort was quickly abandoned. There was a clicking sound coming from somewhere, followed by a flash.

"Colin, _don't_ take a picture of _this,"_ Harry called out dryly.

"Move aside, everyone, move aside!" an annoyingly cheery voice rang out over the crowd. Everyone parted, to reveal the last person Harry wanted to see. His face went almost as pale as Malfoy's.

"No, not you!" he exclaimed.

Gilderoy Lockhart laughed. "The boy doesn't know what he's saying," he declared cheekily, taking out his wand. "Now, boys. Stay very still while I mend your bones."

Both Harry and Draco winced and turned away as Lockhart started waving his wand about flamboyantly. He uttered some words, and suddenly their arms felt quite strange. They turned back toward their arms at the odd feeling, and Malfoy let out a shout of horror.

"_You bloody moron!"_ he shouted.

Harry could do nothing but stare, and try not to be sick. Sticking out of their robes were what looked like fleshy rubber gloves. Lockhart had not mended their broken bones… he had removed them!

"Ah, yes… Well that can sometimes happen," Lockhart said rather uneasily.

"_Bullshit!" _came Bakura's voice from somewhere in the crowd.

The professor bit his lip. "Eheh… Well, the point is, the bones aren't broken anymore. That's something to keep in mind."

"They're not even there," Malfoy growled.

Lockhart was really nervous now. "Well… heh… Remarkably flexible, isn't it?"

Both Draco and Harry looked like they were going to kill him.

-.oOOo.-

Malik was idly nibbling on a piece of toast when Hermione suddenly jumped awake on his lap, flailing a bit in confusion. He held her carefully, murmuring assurances until she calmed down, finally focusing her gaze on him. She reached up shakily, touching his face and hair.

"It's just you…" she finally murmured after a moment, flopping against him in relief as Malik sweatdropped.

"Um… just me, yes…" he replied. "Why, who did you think I was?"

Hermione shook her head. "I… I don't know. Do you have an evil twin?"

Malik made a face. "Sort of. You don't have to worry about _him."_

She clutched to him. "I guess so…" she murmured, before looking around at the empty common room. "How long have we been up here?"

"Ahh… about an hour or so," he replied. "Hey, if you're feeling better, we should go down to the match."

Hermione's eyes widened a moment, before she bit her lip. "About that… I think we should head down to the infirmary…"

Malik blinked. "Why?"

-.oOOo.-

As soon as the two of them arrived at the hospital wing, Malik and Hermione could hear Madam Pomfrey's angry voice coming from a dark corner.

"You should have come straight to me!" she was shouting.

"We tried," came Draco and Harry's voices, sounding rather stressed.

They walked to the back, where the nurse was tossing the two of them pajamas, before ushering them behind a changing screen.

"Broken bones I can fix easily, but _re-growing _them is a different case entirely," the nurse continued, taking a bottle of something marked _Skele-Gro. _Malik exchanged looks with Hermione, eyes widening in surprise.

They waited until the two of them had a cup of the _Skele-Gro _shoved down their throats before approaching the beds they had crawled into. Draco flopped back onto his pillow, looking annoyed while Harry sunk into his own pillow. It took all of one word to explain what happened, and also to send Malik groaning.

"Dear gods, that guy is a menace," he muttered.

"I'm sure it was just an accident," Hermione replied, though she did not sound too convinced herself.

They were shuffled out a few moments later by an annoyed Madam Pomfrey, leaving Harry and Draco with nothing to distract them from the stabbing pains in their arm, aside from each other. The pale boy eyed his pillow, punching at it in an effort to make it a bit softer.

"Hey… Draco…" Harry began.

He shot him a look, raising an eyebrow.

"Thanks."

Draco was quiet, before he grunted, curling up on his side and hoping he would be able to get a little sleep.

Unfortunately, his "sweet" dreams of gibberish and glowing red eyes were thankfully interrupted by an angry shout not all that long into the night. He opened his eyes slightly, ignoring the stabbing pain in his arm, looking over to Harry's bed to see that the other boy had a lanky green elf dressed in an old pillowcase by the throat, and it looked like he was going to strangle the poor creature. He shot straight up on his bed, eyes wide.

"Dobby!" he hissed. The elf's head swiveled around, green eyes widening in shock. He struggled in Harry's grasp, trying to get away, but Draco bolted from his bed, grabbing the creature by the ear.

"Oh, no you don't!" he exclaimed. "What the bloody hell are you doing here!"

"Is this _your _house elf?" Harry asked. "He came to my house this past summer to warn me about trouble at Hogwarts. And guess who fixed that Bludger?"

"But Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts!" Dobby the house elf exclaimed before Draco could act on the murderous look in his eyes, both boys urging him to lower his voice. "Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay at Hogwarts, now that history is about to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is opened once more—"

Dobby cut himself off, a look of abject horror on his face. He wiggled out of Harry's grasp, going over as if to pound his head on the footboard of his bed, but Draco grabbed him by the ears again, hauling him up to his eye level.

"So _is_ open again?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice down. "Who's doing this? I _know _you know, Dobby!"

"Dobby is bad… Dobby is very bad… don't make Dobby say…" was the only response they got out of the house elf. Harry took over then, gripping the elf by the shoulders.

"C'mon, Dobby!" he hissed. "Why do I have to leave Hogwarts? I'm not the one that's muggle born!"

"Sir, ask no more of Dobby," the elf pleaded. "Dangerous deeds are planned in this place. Harry Potter _must_ go home."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Harry snapped. "Half of my friends are muggle born. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I went off to hide and just left them here!"

That brought tears to Dobby's eyes. "Oh, Harry Potter is braver than they say!" he exclaimed. "Risking himself to save his friends! So noble, so valiant!"

"Will you lower your voice!" Draco hissed, looking around, almost expecting Madam Pomfrey to appear at any moment.

The nurse did not appear, however, they did catch the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward the infirmary. Dobby disappeared from Draco's hands, but neither of them really noticed as they dived for their beds, plopping down in them and pretending to still be asleep. Not a moment too soon, either; Dumbledore came into view, holding one end of what looked like a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared shortly after, holding the feet, and with a grunt of effort, the two of them managed to lift the object onto a bed.

"Get Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore ordered, and McGonagall scrambled off to comply, rushing past Draco and Harry's beds. Neither of them dared to even breath as she returned a moment later with the nurse, afraid of what would happen if they were caught awake.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked, looking down at the statue in dismay.

"Another attack," Dumbledore replied dismally. "We found some grapes around him. He was probably on his way here to visit Mr. Potter."

Harry paled, almost afraid to see who it was. They both sat up slightly in bed, catching a ray of moonlight that fell directly on the face of what they previously assumed was a statue.

It was Colin Creevey, his eyes wide and a look of horror on his face. His arms were stuck out before him, clutching his camera as if he were trying to take a picture with it. The two of them exchanged looks, hardly believing what they were seeing.

"Maybe he took a picture of his attacker," McGonagall suggested as Dumbledore wrenched the camera from Colin's stony grasp. The elderly headmaster opened up the casing, only to have a gigantic spark burst out from the back. From where they were lying, Harry and Draco caught the distinct smell of burnt plastic.

"Melted," Dumbledore announced, setting the remains of the camera on the stand next to Colin's bed.

"Albus, what does this all mean?" McGonagall asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "It means, Minerva, that the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened once more."

Harry swallowed, almost afraid to breathe. They all knew that the Chamber did indeed exist? Why did they not do anything about it?

"Who could have done this?" Madam Pomfrey asked, but Dumbledore shook his head.

"The question is not who. The question is _how…"_

The two of them waited, watching as Madam Pomfrey pulled up a shade about Colin's bed, before the professors and the school nurse left. They got up again then, creeping over to his bed to peek in on him, before exchanging looks.

"If my family's house elf is giving you warnings, then my father must have done something to get the Chamber unsealed," Draco hissed softly. "But how…?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm sure we'll find out…"


	8. Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

OH EM GE! An update! XD

Yeah, sorry about the long time between the last update. I've been working rather diligently on my video game, and decided to take a break when the programming became head splitty. X3;

Enjoy the new update; I might have another chapter out later tonight.

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**CHAPTER EIGHT – LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR**

The next morning, Harry and Draco woke up with their arms rather stiff, but reboned. They ate oatmeal provided to them by the nurse rather clumsily with their opposite hands, before getting dressed and hurrying off into the school, Malfoy muttering about how he desperately needed a bath.

"You'll live," Harry replied to one of his rants, rolling his eyes as they made their way up to Gryffindor Tower. The portrait guardian was far from pleased to see Draco however.

"First the Hufflepuff boy, now a _Slytherin!" _she exclaimed, looking rather insulted. "Do you want to invite the whole _school _in!"

"No, but now that you mention it, I should bring Seto by one of these days. He's in Ravenclaw, you know," Harry replied dryly, before giving the password. The fat lady swung open with a grumble, admitting the two boys. Draco stood in the threshold, crossing his arms.

"Wait a bloody minute; why am I following you anyway?" he demanded.

"Because we've been expecting you," came Hermione's voice. They looked up, Harry blinking in surprise as his eyes fell upon not only her, but also Yuugi, Atemu, Ron, and Malik. After a moment, he pointed to Hermione.

"You're starting to freak me out with that thing," he said, getting her to turn rather red.

"It's not my fault! It just… shows me things," she replied, her voice shaking slightly. Malik reached over, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.

"Right, whatever," Draco replied, flopping down in a chair. "Then I guess you know that we know about that little Gryffindor mouse."

Yuugi and Atemu shot him annoyed looks at his manner, as Hermione nodded in agreement. "Yes; everyone's starting to get worried. No one knows just who it is that's setting this monster loose, just that it's someone in the school."

Atemu nodded slightly. "We've got to stop that monster and it's tamer before things get out of hand; before someone dies again."

"Wait," Draco began, fixing them with irritated looked. "Why _us? _Why not _you? _Don't drag me into this; I have more important things to do!"

"Like trying to sleep?" Malik replied dully, getting the pale boy to twitch and fix him with an irritated glare.

"Like trying to kill my family's house elf," he snapped, rubbing his reboned arm and drawing some confused looks. Harry explained about the visit from the elf, drawing a few sweatdrops from the others.

"You know, Harry, if that house elf doesn't stop trying to save your life, he's going to kill you," Malik said, shaking his head.

Yuugi snorted in amusement, grinning. "Anyway, back on the subject of this idiot trying to kill half the school—"

He was cut off by the sound of a gasp coming from the portrait hole, followed by the sound of books dropping. They turned or looked up to see Ginny standing there, looking at all of them, rather distraught. She spun about and ran out of the portrait hole a moment later, getting Ron to groan and smack a hand to his forehead.

"Ginny's been exceptionally jumpy since everything happened," he said, standing up. "I better go talk to her."

-.oOOo.-

In the second week of December, Professor McGonagall went around with the sign up sheet for students that would be staying at the school for the winter holidays. Yuugi and the others from Japan (and Egypt) signed up as usual, as well as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. In addition…

"You're staying too, Draco?" Yuugi asked, looking up at the pale boy as he sneaked into the library, after narrowly slipping away from his bodyguards.

Draco fixed him with an annoyed look. He hated it when they used his first name – which was happening more and more frequently as of late. It made them sound like oh-so-cozy friends. He was _not _friends with them, or anyone else for that matter.

"Yes," he grumbled, flopping down on a seat. "I don't feel like dealing with my father this Christmas. Explaining my nightmares would be too much frustration for me to deal with."

"Have they let up at all?" Atemu asked, setting his quill down and abandoning his homework for a moment.

Draco melted a bit, sagging in his seat. "No," he muttered despairingly.

Seto looked up from his homework, giving the young man a measured look. "Well, maybe we'll be able to work on that over the break," he said, before smirking in amusement. "Hermione needs the help too. Ishtar is going to go crazy if she keeps asking him about his past."

A week later, there was an announcement of a new Dueling Club that would be started just before the holidays. Harry made a bit of a face; wizard's duel… that was what Draco had challenged him to the year before, only to sic Filch on him instead. Seto was all for it, of course – that cocky gleam appeared in his eyes at the mention of it, the same look he always had on his face when he played Duel Monsters. He had to be reminded several times that dueling and wizard's dueling were two completely different things.

At eight 'o clock the night they learned of it, the group of eight friends joined others from different houses in the Great Hall. The long tables they normally ate at had been pushed to the side, and only a large stage stretched from one end of the hall to the other.

"I wonder who it is that will be instructing us?" Hermione asked as they pushed their way closer to the stage. "I heard Professor Flitwick was a Dueling Champion when he was younger."

Malik smirked, trying to picture the old man – that was somehow shorter than Yuugi – in a magic duel.

"I don't care who it is," he said. "Just as long as it isn't— aaahh… shit…"

Professor Snape had walked up onto the stage, a mighty scowl on his face that the eight of them had never seen before. That was not what had drawn the curse out of Malik, however. On the other end of the stage, grinning cheekily as always, was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced. "Dumbledore has given me special permission to start this dueling club, in case you ever have need to defend yourself, like I myself have so many times in the past. For full details, see my published works." He waved a hand flamboyantly in the direction of Professor Snape. "Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape, who was sporting enough to offer to aid me in this endeavor."

Judging from the scowl on Snape's face, his assistance was not voluntary. Seto leaned down, whispering in Atemu's ear in Japanese so Hermione would not pitch a fit.

"If we're lucky," he said, "Snape will disable him so he can't do that thing he calls 'teaching' anymore."

"And if we're really lucky," the pharaoh returned, also in Japanese, "he'll kill him, and save the whole world a lot of grief."

Snape had apparently heard them, for he tossed them a half attempt at a humored smirk before he resumed glaring at Lockhart. The demonstration duel followed almost immediately, with the two professors bowing to one another. Well, Lockhart did with a great amount of twirling of his hands; Snape just jerked his head irritably. They walked away from one another then, looking like something out of a bad American Western film. Once they were far enough apart, they spun around and faced one another again, brandishing their wands before them like swords.

"On the count of three, we will cast our first spells," Lockhart announced to the crowd of students. "We won't be aiming to kill, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Ryou commented, eyeing Snape. He could not understand how Lockhart could still be smiling; if Snape were glaring at him like that, he would be running in the opposite direction.

"One… two… three…"

"Expelliarmus!"

A burst of red sparks burst forth from Snape's wand. It hit Lockhart square in the chest, sending him flying into the far wall. He smacked against it, sliding down until his rump hit the ground. Several people started cheering (mostly Slytherins), while Hermione was dancing about, trying to see above the crowd.

"Is he all right?" she asked.

"Who cares?" the boys responded dryly.

Meanwhile, Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet, his wavy hair nearly standing on end. He chuckled, much to Snape's obvious displeasure, as he walked back to his previous position.

"Ah, yes, excellent idea to show them that first, Professor Snape," he said. "That was a Disarming Charm, and as you can see, I've lost my wand. Well, now, why don't we have two students try it out for themselves while I go look for it. Mr. Mutou, Mr. Kaiba, if you please?"

"Which Mutou?" Yuugi and Atemu asked at the same time, drawing several chuckles from the crowd.

"Uh…" Lockhart began. "The… taller one."

Atemu sweatdropped, but scrambled up onto the stage along with Seto. They mimicked what Snape and Lockhart had demonstrated, as the latter professor urged them to only use the Disarming Charm. Seto smirked as they both brought their wands at ready.

"Shall we make this more interesting?" he asked in Japanese, making it seem like he was insulting the pharaoh.

"As much as I would, I don't feel like getting a detention," Atemu returned in the same language. "Oh, and Snape knows Japanese."

Seto looked over his shoulder at the professor, who had another one of his smirks on his face. The young CEO rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Atemu.

"Oh well," he replied, in English, then announced, "We're ready!"

"On the count of three then," Snape said for Lockhart, as the other professor was still looking for his wand. "One… two… three."

"Expelliarmus!"

The name of the spells was shouted out at the same time, but because Seto moved his wand faster than Atemu did, the smaller boy was sent flailing backward first. He managed to grab the edge of the stage, preventing himself from hitting the wall like Lockhart had. Seto, heavier than him and not as easy to send flying, landed near the opposite edge of the stage with a thud that nearly knocked the wind out of him.

"Ah, excellent! Very excellent!" Lockhart exclaimed, finally recovering his wand. "Five points apiece to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Now, how about another student example before pairing off everyone? Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley?"

Harry clambered onto the stage, and Ron was about to follow, when Snape stood in front of him, blocking him off as he said to Lockhart, "In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Weasley's wand causes devastation with even the simplest of spells."

Ron backed off, shrugging to Harry sheepishly. The sad part was, Snape was right; his Spell-o-taped wand had not worked properly since it had broken.

"May I suggest a student from my own house?" the Potions Master continued. "Mr. Malfoy, perhaps?"

Draco climbed up onto the stage, looking like he would rather be anywhere else. Harry could not help but agree with that look.

"Remember, _disarm_ only," Lockhart reminded them. "One… two –"

Despite the fact that they were getting along a bit better since encountering the petrified cat, Harry had expected him to try and pull something off. Good thing Malfoy never disappointed him; the pale boy's wand had already started moving on "two".

"Tarantallegra!"

Harry was hit full on with the curse, and it took all the self-control he could muster to prevent his legs from breaking out into some kind of dance. Squeezing his knees together, he pointed his wand at Draco.

"Rictusempra!"

A jet of silver shot out of his wand, hitting Malfoy in the chest while Lockhart started panicking.

"I said disarm _only!"_ he stressed.

Everyone else ignored him, too caught up in the duel. Malfoy, wheezing from the Tickling Charm Harry had cast on him, held up his wand shakily.

"Serpensortia!"

It was like the end of Malfoy's wand had exploded. A long, black snake shot out of the wand, rearing up and hissing furiously. Some students screamed, and the crowd as a whole backed off. Even Harry took a step back, surprised. Apparently, that spell had been Snape's limit; he stepped forward, pulling out his wand.

"Don't move, you two," he warned.

"Allow me, Professor Snape!" Lockhart declared. A worried look crossed Snape's face before he backed off – along with both Harry and Draco.

After much apparently useless twirling, Lockhart pointed his wand at the snake. However, instead of disappearing, the snake flew up in the air and plopped down on the stage again. It reared up once more, still hissing; all that Lockhart's spell had accomplished was to make it angrier than it was before. The snake slithered toward a Hufflepuff boy, Justin Finch-Fletchley, looking like it was going to lash out at the paling boy any minute. Harry did the only thing he could think of: he stalked threateningly toward the snake, drawing its attention to him.

"Get away from him!" he shouted.

To his surprise, the snake became docile, slithering away from Justin and curling up in the center of the stage. Harry sighed in relief, and then smiled as he turned to the Hufflepuff boy. He expected him to maybe be a little confused, but grateful that he had called off the snake. He did not expect him to be standing there, shaking, looking like he was going to pass out.

"What are you playing at!" he demanded, before whirling around and stalking out of the room. Ryou gave Harry a worried look before running after him.

Harry looked around in confusion. All of the students were giving him strange, frightened looks. Draco looked as confused as he was, but was doing a better job of hiding it. Snape just stared at him, an unusual look of utter disbelief on his face, before he made the snake vanish. Suddenly, Ron grabbed the sleeve of his robe and tugged him off the stage.

"C'mon!" he hissed. "Move!"

Ron, Hermione, Malik, Yuugi, Atemu, and Seto pulled him along through the Great Hall. The going was easy, as the students quickly parted to let them through. Harry could only stare at their frightened faces; what had he done to get such a reaction out of them?

There was a thump from the stage a moment later, and Draco rushed to join them on the way out of the Great Hall, not caring what it looked like. The group did not stop until they reached the empty Gryffindor common room (the fat lady let out an irritated noise at Seto's presence, but did not bother protesting). Ron practically threw the still utterly confused Harry into a seat.

"You're a Parselmouth!" he exclaimed. "How come you never told us!"

"I'm a what?" Harry asked, getting more confused by the minute.

"A Parselmouth," Yuugi repeated for Ron, who looked like he was going to have a fit. "Someone who can talk to snakes."

"Oh," Harry replied. "Oh, yeah, I know. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin once… Long story," he added, noticing their looks of horror. "It was before I found out I was a wizard. The snake told me it had never seen Brazil."

"The _snake_ told you?" Seto asked, his face paling.

"So what?" Harry demanded, starting to get angry. "If I hadn't told that snake to get away from Justin –"

"Oh, is that what you said to it?" Ron asked, sarcastically.

"Yes, that _is_ what he said to it!" Draco exclaimed, drawing looks to him as well.

"_You're _a Parselmouth too!" Ron exclaimed, paling.

Draco fixed him with an irritated look. "We _can't _be. There's no way—"

"Draco, we heard Harry speaking Parseltongue," Malik replied, like he was talking to a two year old. "If you understood it, that makes you a Parselmouth."

Harry paled as Draco fumed, sinking back in his seat. "I spoke a different language?" he asked, shocked. "Wait a minute! How do you guys know about this!"

The foreign boys pointed to Hermione. She screwed up her courage, looking like she was going to regret what she was going to tell him.

"Harry, there's a reason why Slytherin House's animal is a snake," she began. "Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth."

Harry's mouth practically hit the floor at that.

"Exactly," Ron added. "Now everyone's going to think you're his great-great-great-great grandson or something."

Harry shook his head emphatically. "There's no way," he declared. "I'm in Gryffindor, remember?"

"That doesn't matter, Harry," Atemu pointed out. "Salazar Slytherin lived over a thousand years ago. For all we know… you could be."

Harry leaned back in his seat, a look of absolute dread on his face. One thing he had never told any of his friends, was that when he had put on the Sorting Hat what seemed like ages ago, the Hat was originally going to put him in Slytherin. He had urged it not to, and so it put him in Gryffindor instead. Now, with everything happening, he could not help but wonder if the Hat was right the first time…

His thoughts were broken by an irritated growl, and he looked up at a very frustrated Draco.

"Idiots, that's not all that's wrong with being a Parselmouth!" he snapped. "Why do you think there's a snake in the Death Eaters' symbol? Hunh?"

Hermione gave him a blank look, actually not knowing the answer for once.

"Death Eaters?" Atemu asked.

Draco's lip twitched. "The followers of Lord Voldemort. _Voldemort _was a Parselmouth as well!"

-.oOOo.-

Harry had planned on explaining to Justin what he had really been trying to do at the dueling club during Herbology the next morning, but a sudden, severe snowstorm had canceled the last lesson of the term. So, instead of freezing in the greenhouses, he was freezing in the library with his friends, trying to use the free time to get some much needed studying. He just could not think straight, however; thoughts of him possibly being Slytherin's heir were running rampant in his mind.

"Harry," Yuugi said suddenly, sensing that something was bothering his friend, "why don't we go look for Justin?"

"He usually hangs out in the Great Hall when he has breaks," Ryou offered as Harry and Yuugi got up from their seats.

The two of them set off toward the Great Hall, ignoring the stares that were directed toward Harry. The younger boy scoffed at everyone's over-reactions, rolling his eyes. They were about to descend a staircase, when they almost bumped into something very tall and very hairy.

"Hello, Hagrid," Harry greeted.

A snow-covered balaclava hid most of Hagrid's face, but it could not have been anyone else. There was no other person in the school who could take up half the hallway like the giant of a man did.

"All righ' there, Harry, Yuugi?" he asked, pulling up the balaclava with his free hand so he could speak. His other hand had a dead rooster hanging from it. "Why aren't yeh in class?"

"Cancelled," Yuugi explained. "What are you doing with _that?"_

He pointed to the dead rooster. Hagrid held it up a bit.

"Second one killed this term," he explained. "Prob'ly foxes or a Blood-Suckin' Bugbear. I need Dumbledore's permission ter put a charm around the hen coop."

Harry checked his watch and frowned; damn, so much for talking to Justin. "Sorry, Hagrid, we've got to go," he said. "It's Transfiguration next and we still need to get our books."

Hagrid peered down at him. "Are yeh sure yeh're all right?" he asked. "Yeh look all hot an' bothered…"

Harry smiled slightly, grateful for his concern. "I'm okay," he said. "Just a lot of things going on lately."

The two of them said good-bye to Hagrid before heading up to their common room. Yuugi looked up to Harry, who still had a bit of a sour look on his face. He raced up in front of him and spun around, making him stop in mid-step.

"Harry, let me tell you something," he began, "when you guys found out about the other me, I was worried – _very _worried."

"About what?" Harry asked, wondering where this came from all of a sudden.

"That you and Ron and Hermione would not be my friends anymore," he replied. He held up a hand. "I don't mean to make a 'power of friendship' speech – my friend Anzu in Japan has a habit of making too many of those – but I will say this much. We're all _true _friends, even Draco in a way, and no matter what happens to us, or whoever our ancestors might be, we'll always have that bond."

Harry blinked, caught off guard. After a moment, he smiled his first true smile in a long time. "Thanks, Yuugi," he said. "I guess I really needed to hear that."

They resumed the walk to the common room then, taking a short cut down a dark corridor. The torches must have been blown out by a cold draft from somewhere, though the hallway was a bit warm. Yuugi pulled out his golden wand.

"Lumos!"

The tip of the wand lit up with a light powerful enough to illuminate a good portion of the hallway. The sight that lay out before them, however, nearly made the older boy drop the wand in shock. Justin Finch-Fletchley was lying on the floor, perfectly still, a look of shock frozen on his face. Hovering slightly above him was the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick. Instead of being pale and silvery like all the other ghosts were, however, he was gray and smoky, floating motionlessly parallel to the ground.

Harry fell to his knees in shock, his breathing coming out in shallow gasps. Yuugi himself looked like he was going to faint.

Just then, to add insult to injury, the school's resident poltergeist, Peeves, floated out of an empty classroom. He was on his back, looking like he was doing the backstroke in midair. The ghost flipped around when he saw them, a sneer on his face.

"Why, it's potty wee Potter!" he cackled, bouncing around him. "What's Potter up to this time, eh? Why's Potter lurking –"

Peeve cut himself off in mid bounce, a look of abject horror on his normally wicked little face. His beady little eyes were focused on Nearly Headless Nick.

"_ATTACK!"_ he screamed at the top of his lungs. _"ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE!"_


	9. Spy Games

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

**CHAPTER NINE – SPY GAMES**

The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick sent a shockwave through the school. Most students who had signed up to stay at the school during Christmas quickly took their names off the list, afraid of staying at the school with whom the students had labeled as the prime suspect: Harry Potter. Thankfully for Harry, the teachers knew better, especially Dumbledore, who had seen the young wizard after the attack and assured him that he was not truly a suspect.

The common rooms were exceptionally empty that night, especially the Slytherin room, as Draco was the only occupant. Everyone had been surprised by his choice, but he ignored them, not interested in their opinion. Besides, he was worried that if he had gone home, his father would find out not only about the Millennium Scale, but that he was a Parselmouth, and he knew that would not end well.

It was no secret that his father had been a Death Eater – a loyal follower of Lord Voldemort when he was at the height of his power – despite his claim that he had been controlled, and forced to do the things he had done (complete rubbish of course). If his father found out that he had a trait that only Voldemort had ever displayed in recent history, he knew that he would be forced to go through the ceremony that all Death Eaters went through, even though the dark lord's whereabouts were as of yet unknown. Before, he would have been elated to have such an honor so early in his life, but now…

Malfoy gripped the sides of his head, shaking it furiously. He needed to get out of the stuffy common room, and he did so, wandering the halls of the school until he found himself at the large double doors of the front entrance to the school. He pushed them open and went out into the cold winter daylight. Freshly fallen snow crunched under his feet as he made his way to the nearly frozen shore where he had arrived and departed from the school for the first time last year.

He sat down in the snow and sand mix, staring out vacantly at the semi-frozen water before him. A moment past, before he pulled out the Scales from its hiding place in his robes, the golden object glinting innocently in the sunlight. Damn thing… the year started bad when he stole the thing. He wanted to throw it off into the lake and forget it ever existed, but he knew he would not be able to get away with that.

With a sigh, Draco set the Scales down in the sand beside him before curling himself up, resting his chin on his knees. He wanted to understand why he was chosen for this; why did he have some Item from Ancient Egypt? What did it mean for him, and how was he supposed to even make use of it?

He blew out a frustrated sigh. How the heck was he supposed to balance his feelings, now that they had been sent totally askew?

Draco did not know why, but something made him look up to the pale blue sky above. Something strange was floating up there. At first, he thought it was just a cloud, but then he realized it was something else as it gently drifted toward him. He held out a hand, and a feather, the likes of which he had never seen, came to a soft rest in it. It was not an owl's feather that was for sure. Owl feathers were large and rounded off at the end, but this was small, about the length of his hand, and came up to a sharp point. It's coloring was odd as well: pure white, with a small hint of gold highlighting it.

He found himself staring at it mindlessly, like he could not tear his eyes away…

_My bloodline has guarded the tombs for three thousand years. I am a servant of Anubis… Because of your greed, another tomb in the Valley of the Kings has been defiled. You have trespassed in the territory of the Gods. For that, you will go on trail… You know the scene of the Final Judgment in the one hundred, twenty-fifth chapter of what you call the book of the dead. This is the Scales of Truth… We now begin the game. The Shadow Game…_

"Gha…!" Draco exclaimed, dropping the feather out of reflex, his other hand coming up to his head. That was not like the other visions… He had seen someone, a fat Japanese man, looking shocked and alarmed… and then a horrible monster, looming up behind him…

He put a hand over his mouth, tying not to be sick at the memory. Dear god, that was gross…

Hesitantly, he looked back down at the feather that had fallen. He had seen it in that vision… Gingerly, he picked it up again, looking it over; it just seemed like a normal feather, aside from the fact that it had come out of nowhere.

Draco hesitated again, looking down at the Millennium Scales still resting innocently beside him. Maybe this feather…

Before he could stop himself, the hand holding the feather drifted over to the Scales, hovering over one of the baskets, before letting the feather drop. It landed lightly in the basket, the Item remaining balanced, even though it should have tipped, if only a little. After a moment, Draco let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding; now he was just being silly, what did he expect would happen? Weird glowy stuff or someth—

The thought was cut off, as the Scales did indeed suddenly start to glow. He sore under his breath, before he felt something burning on his forehead, marking him somehow…

It started again. The memories from the past… they suddenly flooded into his consciousness, completely clear and coherent, unlike the past few months. He shuddered, feeling horrified and sick all at once… overwhelmed…

-.oOOo.-

"Last one to the lake is a rotten Dragon Egger!"

Malik's declaration rang through the cold landscape as he bolted out of the double doors of the school, Seto hot on his heels due to the fact that the Gravekeeper had his laptop tightly clutched in his hands. He raced off as fast as he could, trying to keep one step ahead of the boy businessman's long legs. The others were not that far behind them, Bakura near busting a gut laughing at the infuriated look on Kaiba's face.

The Gravekeeper raced all the way down to the lake, turning around as he approached to taunt Kaiba… only…

"WHAO!" he exclaimed suddenly, the laptop flying out of his hands as he fell backwards, tumbling right into the ice cold lake. Seto caught his precious computer, letting out a breath of relief at having it back in his possession as Malik resurfaced… in the arms of the creature that lived in the lake.

"Tentacle rape!" he exclaimed, flailing. The monster seemed to let out an annoyed noise, tossing the struggling Gravekeeper back onto the shore before disappearing back underwater.

No one else paid attention at Malik's antics, however; all eyes were drawn to what he had tripped on…

"Draco!" Yuugi exclaimed, darting forward with Harry. The young wizard was curled up around the Millennium Scale, and even paler than normal, lips tinted blue from the cold. Yuugi grabbed him, shaking him slightly, encouraging him to wake up.

Draco moaned softly, eyes cracking open weakly to look up at him. "Yuugi…" he murmured. "These Items… they're scary…"

Seto suddenly strode forward, handing off his laptop to Hermione first, before kneeling beside Draco to pick him up. He weakly reached out, grabbing the Scales and clutching it close to his chest as he was lifted up and raced back to the castle.

-.oOOo.-

Like last year, Christmas morning dawned bright and cold, but no one remaining in the Gryffindor common room really noticed. They had all gotten up early to get a head start at unwrapping their gifts.

"Any idea what the professors are planning for the Christmas party this year?" Harry asked, melting the treacle fudge he had gotten from Hagrid over the fire before even trying to eat it.

"No idea," Fred said, popping an Every Flavor Bean in his mouth, which quickly got spit out again. "Ruddy cauliflower… Anyway, they usually do something different every year, and they've never disappointed us."

Malik had been in the middle of opening his present from Hermione when he looked up at the Weasley twin, an amused look on his face. "Like anything could ever disappoint you.

Though Fred had definitely been right about one thing: when it came to a Christmas party, the Hogwarts professors never managed to disappoint. After presents, they all went down to the Great Hall, to find it had been decorated with at least a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees, each one twinkling with a magical light. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossed high above them, and enchanted snow, warm and dry to the touch, fell from the ceiling. Then of course, there was the wonderful food: roast turkeys, honeyed ham, and even some traditional Japanese dishes.

Yuugi was in the middle of piling food on his plate when he caught sight of Draco out of the corner of his eye. He was sitting alone at the Slytherin table, picking at the food on his plate, apparently lost in thought and still looking a little sick from his encounter at the start of the break. Yuugi bit his lip, debating, before he took his plate in hand and – much to everyone's surprise – went over and set the plate down across from Draco. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a small, wrapped box. He held it out to the younger boy.

"Here," he said. Draco stared at the present, raising an eyebrow, as Yuugi continued, "I got this for you, in the event that you'd willingly accept a muggle present from a mudblood."

Draco blinked, trying and failing not to look surprised. He had never really gotten presents from anyone other than his parents, not to mention something from someone on the complete opposite side of the tracks he stood on.

"Muggle born," he corrected after a long pause, taking the present from Yuugi. "Mudblood is just really rude."

Yuugi smiled as Draco opened up the present, revealing the Duel Monsters starter deck and two booster packs he had gotten for him. He sat down as the others started to slowly drift over to join them at the Slytherin table.

-.oOOo.-

Eventually the holidays passed, and things more or less returned to normal at the school, with a few exceptions. The most notable of those changes of course, was that Draco was, for lack of a better term, playing spy for them.

"Weasley," he said one day as he approached them in the library during a study session, tossing a paper at Ron. The redhead gave him a weird look, before looking at the article that Draco had circled. He slammed it down again a moment later, and infuriated look on his face.

**INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle  
Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons  
for bewitching a Muggle car.

Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts  
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the  
enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called  
today for Mr. Weasley's resignation.

"Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute,"  
Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit  
to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle  
Protection Act should be scrapped immediately."

Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment,  
although his wife told reporters to clear off or  
she'd set the family ghoul on them.

"What the hell?" Malik asked after he read it. "Damn bastard… no offense Draco."

"None taken," Draco replied stiffly, before pulling a note out of his pocket and handing it to Ron. "I said nothing."

Ron looked over it real fast, before his eyes lit up. He excused himself, before dashing off to the Owlery.

-.oOOo.-

Harry, Ron, Yuugi, Malik, Hermione, and Draco were heading toward the dungeons for double Potions, when a shout suddenly came from the staircase above them. The five of them jumped as a flood of water came pouring down on them. Filch came running down the steps soon after, his pants soaked and shaking his fist angrily.

"Damned ghost!" he shouted. "This is the last straw! I'm going straight to Dumbledore!"

He stalked past them, ignoring them entirely. The five of them exchanged glances, before running up the stairs, to find themselves standing just outside the girl's bathroom, near where Mrs. Norris had been attacked what seemed like ages ago.

"Oh, dear…" Hermione murmured as she stepped inside. "Not Moaning Myrtle's bathroom…"

"Moaning Myrtle?" Harry asked. "Isn't that the ghost that Peeves was making fun of at the Death Day party?"

"The same," she said, ushering them inside. "It's okay, no one ever goes in here."

The boys exchanged looks, before looking around a moment, making sure no one would spot them, and heading into the bathroom. The room was just like the boys bathroom – minus the urinals of course – and was nearly drowned in water. A pathetic wailing sound was coming from one of the toilets, something that was supposed to pass off for crying.

"What's up, Myrtle?" Harry called.

"Who's there?" Myrtle gurgled from the toilet. "Come to throw something at me again?"

"Why would we throw something at you?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Myrtle said, emerging from her toilet, splashing more water on the already sopping wet floor. "I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me."

"But it's not like it would hurt you," Draco pointed out. "I mean, you're already dead."

That was the wrong thing to say. Myrtle flew up to him, a snarl on her pale face. "Oh, sure!" she shrieked. "Let's throw stuff at Myrtle because she can't _feel_ it! Ten points if you can get it through her stomach!" She punched him in the stomach, the burst of cold that went through him making him jump. "Fifty points if you can get it through her head!"

She punched Draco through the head, sending a shiver through him as she soared up into the air before diving into her toilet once more. The pale boy turned to Harry, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"How do you people put up with this?" he asked, as Yuugi went over to a stall on the far side. He picked up a black book, its pages soaked from the outpouring from the toilet. He ran his hands over the damp cover, feeling out a year that dated the book back fifty years, before opening up the book and finding the name "T.M. Riddle" written in smudged ink on the first page. The others crowded around him as he flipped through the book, only to find it was blank.

"Odd," Hermione mused. "Why would someone want to flush away a blank book?"

Yuugi flipped the book over, revealing the place of publication. Harry frowned. "Vauxhall Road?" he asked. "He must have been muggle born."

"Well, I don't think we'll need it," Draco declared, before dropping his voice. "Fifty points if you can get it through Myrtle's nose."

Yuugi rolled his eyes before stuffing the book into his robe.

-.oOOo.-

The snow finally stopped some time in the middle of February, and the sun poked out of the clouds for the first time since November. Even better than that, was that there had not been any attacks since Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and that had everyone in high spirits. Lockhart apparently had ideas to increase moral, though, which was painfully obvious when Yuugi and Malik entered the Great Hall on the morning of February fourteenth.

They thought they were seeing things. Gigantic pink flowers covered the walls, and worse yet, heart shaped confetti was falling from the clear blue ceiling. The two of them joined Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Atemu at the Gryffindor table. The pharaoh was busily trying to brush the confetti from their bacon while trying not to be sick at the sight of it all. Malik and Yuugi sat down just as Seto and Ryou came into the hall. They looked around in horror before going over to their table.

"What the heck is going _on_ here!" Seto demanded.

Harry and Ron pointed to the professor's table, too disgusted to speak. At the table, Lockhart was standing, showing off his robes the same shade of pink as the flowers and smiling jovially as always. The professors around him looked like they were going to be sick. A muscle was twitching in McGonagall's cheek, and Snape looked like he was just shy of killing someone.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" he exclaimed. "And may I thank the forty-six people who sent me Valentine's Day cards so far. I have taken the liberty of arranging a little surprise for you all."

He clapped his hands together, and a group of about a dozen dwarfs marched into the Great Hall and lined up in front of the professor's table. They were not just any dwarfs, however; Lockhart had them wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"Meet my lovely card carrying cupids!" he exclaimed. "They will be roving the school today, delivering everyone's Valentines!"

Ryou just stared, his lip twitching. "I knew he was gay…" he muttered.

Malik, in the meantime, had focused Hermione with an unreadable look. "Please tell me you weren't one of the forty-six."

Hermione suddenly found her food interesting, and Malik's whole face turned green in response. The other boys sweatdropped at his reaction. Harry shook his head sadly.

Atemu glanced over to Ryou, and upon asking why he was giving him such a look, the pharaoh replied, "If the tomb robber even thinks of giving me a Valentine, I'm cracking my half of the Puzzle over his head."

-.oOOo.-

Later that night found Yuugi in the library, trying to get in some last minute studying for a test he had the next day, but he just could not concentrate. His mind kept drifting from Draco and the danger he was undoubtingly putting himself in by helping them the way he was, to the book he had found in Myrtle's bathroom. He sighed, and started to gather up his books so he could head back to the common room, when he paused, looking down at the little black book. Well… if Riddle had not used it, he supposed it would not be bad for him to write in it. Besides, it might help clear his head.

He flopped back down, reaching for his quill and dipping it into his ink, but he had unfortunately dipped it in too much, for a drop fell off the tip and splashed on the page. Muttering under his breath, he looked down, reaching into his robes for his wand. He was in for a shock when he looked back up, however.

The ink stain was _gone._

Yuugi blinked, flipping some of the pages, trying to find any trace of the splash of ink. He returned it to the first page and, frowning slightly, let another drop of ink fall onto the page. After a moment, the ink was sucked into the page, and he yelped reflexively. Feeling reckless, he wrote quickly on the page:

**My name is Yuugi Mutou.**

There was a pause, and the words also sunk into the page. Then, to Yuugi's surprise, he got a response!

_Hello, Yuugi Mutou. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come about my diary?_

Those words also disappeared back into the page. Yuugi hesitated a moment, before writing his answer, silently wishing his English writing was not so horrible.

**Someone tried to flush it down a toilet.**

Yuugi sat back and waited for Riddle's answer.

_Good thing I decided to keep my memories in something more lasting than ink. Though, I'd imagine some people would want to prevent my past from being revealed._

Yuugi frowned at that, hoping he was not digging himself his own grave as he asked:

**What do you mean?**

_This diary chronicles events that are quite unspeakable – events that happened at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Yuugi paused a moment, trying to remember something. Draco said that the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, right?

**Are you talking about the Chamber of Secrets?**

Tom's response came quickly, as if he were excited about being able to talk about it with someone.

_Yes! The Chamber of Secrets was opened when I went to school. The professors told us it was just a myth, but they lied. In my fifth year, the monster was released and attacked several students, killing one. I caught the person who opened the Chamber and he was expelled. However, the headmaster at the time, Professor Dippet, was ashamed that such a thing had happened, and forbade me to tell the truth. A story was given that the girl had died in a freak accident, and they gave me a medal just to shut me up. I knew it was going to happen again, though. After all, the person who let it loose had not been imprisoned._

Yuugi bit his lip, worried about the implication. He wrote his answer back quickly.

**You're right, it is happening again, right now. There've been two people, a cat, and a ghost that's been petrified, and no one's been able to figure out who is doing it. Who was it the last time?**

_I can show you if you'd like…_

Yuugi hesitated, worried. It was bad enough that he was _writing_ to a book, but how was he supposed to be able to "see" whatever it was that Riddle wanted to show him? He glanced nervously around the library, making sure there was not anyone around, before he wrote down his answer.

**OK**

The pages suddenly started flipping by on their own, coming to a rest on a page marked "June Thirteenth". Yuugi lifted the book, still trying to figure out how he was supposed to see Riddle's memory, when the binding started to glow. Yuugi, too scared to even yelp, could only stare in horror as the glow from the book expanded, seemingly reaching out and grabbing him with luminous hands.

When the glow finally faded a moment later, the only sign that Yuugi had even been there was Riddle's diary resting innocently on the table, with his half of the Millennium Puzzle lying on its side next to it…


	10. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

I would have posted this sooner, but I was busy drooling over the copy of the YGO The Gospel of Truth that I just recieved. Dude, if any of you have the money to spare, go get it. It is largely text, but if you have enough of a mind to put two and two together, you can figure out what the pages are about. It's a WONDERFUL guide to the YGO series.

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN – DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE**

Yuugi was deposited unceremoniously onto the floor with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Pushing himself up with one arm, he looked around as best he could while trying to regain his breath. He had arrived in an office that was reminiscent of Dumbledore's (which he had visited once last year while Atemu was still in the hospital wing), but it was… different. There was no cluttering on the desk, no phoenix on his perch, and no Sorting Hat up on the top of the bookshelf. Though, if the paintings behind him, most of them empty, were any indication, it was the same office.

Only when Yuugi started to get to his feet did he realize that his neck felt lighter than normal. Looking down confirmed it: his half of the Millennium Puzzle was missing! He darted about frantically, trying to see if it had landed somewhere else, but with no luck. The Puzzle just simply was not there.

"The other me is gonna _kill_ me…" he muttered under his breath.

It was then that he became aware of another person in the room, sitting behind the tidy desk. The man was frail and balding, and had a wizened look about him. Though, it was not the same, gentle wisdom that Dumbledore always seemed to radiate; it was more like wisdom born through hard fought experience. He was staring down at a piece of paper in his hand, and had not reacted to Yuugi's presence at all.

"Um… excuse me, sir?" he hazard, leaning toward the old man. There was no response, and Yuugi put a hand on his hip, reaching out to rest his other hand on the desk.

_Trying_ to, at least. His hand went right through the desk, making him loose his balance and topple through the desk to land on the floor once more. Yuugi rolled past the desk until he could safely sit up without his head (or hair) poking through anything or anybody. Something like this only happened once before, when him, Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, and Bobasa (that strange man that claimed to be one of Shaadi's assistants but turned out to be something else) had traveled to the past in the Memory RPG. What he was viewing right now were shadows of the past, and the events playing before his eyes he could not change.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door (since when was there a door? Yuugi wondered), and the elderly wizard bade the person enter. A tall boy of about sixteen entered, pulling off his wizard's cap to reveal an immaculate head of black hair. A prefect's badge was shining on his robes, just above the green and silver Slytherin crest.

"Ah, Riddle," the wizard said.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Dippet?" Tom Riddle asked. He seemed nervous; he kept twisting his wizard's cap.

"Please, sit down," Headmaster Dippet requested, waving to one of the armchairs on the other side of the desk. "I was just reading over your letter."

"Oh?" Riddle asked, sitting down.

"My dear boy," the headmaster began kindly, "there's just no way you can stay here over the holidays. Don't you want to go home for the summer?"

"No, sir," Riddle replied, shaking his head emphatically. "I don't consider that place 'home'."

"You live in a muggle orphanage, correct?" Dippet asked. Riddle blushed slightly before nodding. "Are you muggle born?"

"Half blood, sir," he corrected. "Muggle father, witch mother."

"And are they…?"

"My mother died soon after I was born, sir," he answered. "She only lived long enough to name me. Tom after my father, Marvolo after my grandfather."

Yuugi crossed his arms, frowning and wondering where this was going…

The headmaster clicked his tongue sympathetically. "I understand, Tom," he said, "and under normal circumstances, I might have made an exception. Recent events being as they are, however…"

"You mean the attacks, sir?" Tom asked. Yuugi jumped at that.

"Yes, Tom," Dippet replied sadly. "It would be foolish of me to allow anyone to stay here over the holidays, especially in light of the recent tragedy. That poor, little girl… As it is, the Ministry of Magic is calling for this school to be closed."

Riddle bit his lip. "Sir, what if the person was caught? What then?"

"What do you mean?" the headmaster asked, a hopeful look appearing on his face. "Do you know something, Riddle?"

"No," Tom replied quickly, but even Yuugi could tell he was lying. Dippet did not seem to notice, however, as he sighed dejectedly and leaned back in his seat.

"You may go, Tom…"

Tom Riddle quickly got out of his seat and left, with Yuugi following close behind, going through the door when the other boy closed it in his face. They descended the moving staircase, going in and out of various passages until they reached the front foyer. Riddle was about to swing around and head for the dungeons, when he caught sight of a professor up at the top of the stairs. The man had sweeping auburn hair, and a beard that was long enough for him to tuck into his belt.

Professor Dumbledore.

"What are you doing wandering about at this time of night, Tom?"

"I had to see the headmaster, Professor," Riddle answered.

"Well, better hurry off to bed, then," Dumbledore urged. "Best not to wander around the halls these days."

He bade the boy good night before disappearing up another flight of stairs. Tom took off as soon as he was out of sight, bolting down to the dungeons with Yuugi following in hot pursuit. They came up to a nondescript door, and Riddle paused before it, pulling his wand out of his robes before kicking open the door, revealing a large boy bending over a trunk, peeking inside. The boy jumped when Riddle stormed in, slamming the truck close.

"Evening, Rubeus," Riddle snapped.

"What yer doin' down here, Tom?" the boy demanded.

"I'm going to have to turn you in, Rubeus," Riddle said darkly. "They're talking about closing Hogwarts if the attacks don't stop."

"What d'yeh…?"

"You know what I mean," Tom interrupted. "I'm sure you didn't mean for it to hurt anyone, but you have to know that monsters don't make good pets."

"It wasn't him!" the boy protested, standing in front of the trunk protectively. "He wouldn'…! He never…!"

"Stand aside," Riddle warned, raising his wand.

Suddenly, whatever it was that was in the trunk burst out, scuttling past Riddle as he fired off spells at it. The monster went through Yuugi in a skittering of several feet as it tore through the corridor and disappeared around the corner. Riddle snarled, making to go after the creature, but the large boy grabbed him, preventing him from going after it.

Just as Tom Riddle started to break free from the boy's grasp, the world around Yuugi started to tilt and whirl about sickeningly. All of a sudden, he found himself falling through darkness at an unnervingly rapid pace. He landed in his chair in the library, almost breaking the furniture.

Yuugi looked around in shock, making sure he was in his proper time. He spotted his Millennium Puzzle half resting next to Riddle's diary, and slipped it back on gratefully.

_Aibou, are you okay?_ Atemu's voice came almost immediately. _Why did you take the Puzzle off?_

Yuugi winced, able to tell through their bond that his other half had been worrying his head off.

_I'll tell you on the way to the common room,_ he replied numbly, gathering his supplies. _But, I think Hagrid was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago._

-.oOOo.-

Yuugi was regretting figuring out how Riddle's diary work, as his friends kept hammering him with questions. He had to repeat what he had seen in the "memory world" what seemed like a million times.

"Anyway," Seto began before Yuugi had to repeat himself once more. "What do you think we should do about Hagrid?"

"You think we should ask him?" Ryou asked, his voice unsure.

"Oh, that'll be a cheerful visit," Ron replied sourly. "'Hey, Hagrid, have you been setting any hairy monsters loose lately?'"

In the end, they opted not to ask Hagrid about his expulsion unless there was another attack. This was looking less and less likely, however; the attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been nearly four months ago, and there had not been a peep out of the voice in the walls or any other attacks since. Students were starting to treat Harry like a normal person again, and sometime after April Fools Day, the mandrakes they had repotted back in the beginning of the year threw a party they were able to hear all the way in the castle. This actually made Professor Sprout happy, though, for it meant that the plants were close to maturity; and as soon as they started trying to move into other mandrake's pots, they were ready to be used as a restorative for the people who had been petrified.

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight," Malik said after the professor told them. "Once they start getting horny, then it's time to chop them up and stew them? Oh, _that's_ an encouraging thought…"

Easter break also brought something else the second year students had to worry about. They had to choose the elective courses they would have to take next year. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Yuugi, Atemu, and Malik poured over the list of courses available during lunch one day, trying to decide what to take.

"This is very important to our future, you know," Hermione said, signing up for everything on the list as Atemu watched, blinking.

"Are you sure you can take all those at once?" he asked, perplexed.

"I'll manage!" she insisted.

"Shame we can't give up our old classes," Harry commented dryly.

"No kidding," Ron agreed. "If we could, I would've dropped Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"But that's an important class!" Hermione protested.

"Not the way Lockhart teaches it," Malik replied. "The only thing I've learned in his class is not to let pixies loose in a classroom."

In the end, the boys all ended up taking both Divination and Care of Magical Creatures together. Atemu also signed up for Runes, and both him, Yuugi, and Malik also signed up for a class simply marked "Ancient Magic". To everyone's surprise, they found out later that Draco had also signed up for Care of Magical Creatures, as well as Muggle Studies.

"I figure as a governor of the school, it's not going to be long before my father finds I'm genuinely working to help you," he replied when asked. "Bloody hell, half your house probably knows of it by now. I may as well be prepared for when I get kicked out of the house."

-.oOOo.-

Yuugi flopped into a chair some time later that night, unable to sleep, still thinking about Hagrid. How could he be the one that set the monster loose on the school? Sure, the groundskeeper had difficulty distinguishing between what was harmless and what was truly dangerous, but even he would be able to tell that something petrifying and killing students was serious.

He glanced down at the black book in his hands, before opening it up, taking the quill he had set down on the table before him and dabbing it in his ink.

**Hullo, Tom.**

He paused a moment, waiting…

_Hello, Yuugi. Good to hear from you again. How are you?_

**I wish I could say I was well. I was thinkin about what you showed me. I really don't think Hagrid did it.**

There was a long pause, as if the book was considering his reply.

_What makes you say that? You saw the creature…_

**That's just it. This creature that's attac**

He did not get a chance to finish, as he heard a gasp followed by the sound of something falling. Yuugi's head snapped up, spotting Ron's sister staring at him with wide eyes.

"Ginny?" he asked, closing the book slightly. "What's wrong?"

"N…n…nothing…" she murmured, gathering up her belongings and disappearing into the girls' dorm. Yuugi raised an eyebrow at her back, a small frown creasing his face. Ron's sister was rather weird… He sighed, turning back to the diary.

**Sorry, Tom, someone almost caught me. I'll write to you tomorrow.**

He paused, waiting to see if he would respond…

_I'll be waiting…_

-.oOOo.-

The days passed slowly, and soon the Gryffindor team was all abuzz with the next Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Although that house did not have much of a team that year, the Gryffindor team captain, Oliver Wood, insisted that they practice every single day for hours on end. That left Harry with only enough time for practice and homework. At least the sessions were getting drier and spirits were lighter than they had been before the match against Slytherin back in November. The team was excited about it all as they locked up their brooms in the broom shed the evening before the match. It was looking like they were going to get the Quidditch cup this year!

Harry's good mood soon faded though, as he entered the second year bedroom. He found Yuugi's section of the room practically torn apart, with his books and robes and cards scattered all over the place. The Japanese boy himself was on his knees, looking through the mess while trying to straighten it all out.

"Yuugi, what happened?" Harry asked, bending down to help him out.

"What's it look like happened?" Yuugi returned miserably. "Someone trashed my stuff."

A suspicious look crossed his face. "You don't think Malfoy…?"

Yuugi shook his head. "No, he's studying with the others. I was too, but I forgot some of my notes."

"But if it's not him, only a Gryffindor could have come in here," Harry protested. "No one else has our password."

"No kidding," Yuugi replied. He paused a moment, looking through the books on the floor. "Wait a minute… Riddle's diary is gone!"

-.oOOo.-

Despite the missing magical diary, when Harry woke up the next morning, nothing could dampen his good mood. Outside, the sun was shining beautifully, and a light breeze whispered though the trees of the forbidden forest. It was the perfect kind of weather for Quidditch, and the younger seek was practically skipping as he joined his friends in the Great Hall, and then later out in the front foyer. Even Draco had managed to slip away from his entourage, coming to wish him a (reluctant) good luck. Everything was as perfect as it could possibly be… That was, until…

_Kill this time… let me rip… tear…_

Harry and Draco stopped dead in their tracks, whirling on one another.

"Did you hear that!" they asked each other at the same time.

"You guys heard something?" Yuugi asked.

Harry looked down at him, perplexed. "You mean you didn't?"

Atemu crossed his arms. "This is starting to worry me. Every time you guys hear something, someone gets hurt."

Suddenly, Hermione's eyes lit up as a sudden idea dawned on her. She clapped a hand to her forehead, as if she just figured out something completely obvious.

"I think I've just figured something out!" she exclaimed, grabbing Seto by the arm. "C'mon! We've gotta go to the library!"

Seto let out a yelp of surprise, dropping his laptop as she dragged him back up the stairs and out of sight, leaving the other boys staring after them in confusion.

"Did I just miss something?" Draco asked.

Malik shook his head ruefully. "No, just Hermi-chan being herself," he answered. "When she's in doubt, she grabs the unfortunate soul who's unlucky enough to be standing next to her and runs for the library."

"We'd better hurry," Ron said. "The match…"

Atemu stooped to recover Seto's laptop, before they raced off to the Quidditch field – Harry heading for the broom shed and locker room, while Yuugi, Atemu, Bakura, Ron, and Draco headed off for the stands, the latter parting with them just before to keep up appearances. Harry's mood had been shattered by the disembodied voice, however. His only comfort was that everyone was out in the stands and not in the castle.

The Gryffindor team headed out onto the field a moment later. Wood took off for a practice flight around the stadium, while Madam Hooch released the Bludgers and Golden Snitch.

Then, Harry saw a sight that made his heart sink. Professor McGonagall came half-marching, half-running out onto the field, a large purple megaphone in her hand.

"This match has been canceled!" she shouted through the device. Boos and jeers erupted from the stands. Wood practically fell out of the air in shock. "All students are to make their way to their house common rooms," she continued, ignoring the reactions, "and the Heads of Houses will fill you in on the details."

McGonagall lowered her megaphone, and to Harry's surprise, beckoned to him.

"I think you better come with me, Mister Potter…"

Confused, he followed her, making their way back to the castle separately. The others broke away from the crowd once they spotted him and the professor and raced up to them just as they were about to enter the castle. To their surprise, McGonagall did not object.

"Yes, I think it would be best if you all came."

They exchanged worried looks as they followed McGonagall through the crowded hallways and up to the hospital wing.

"Now, this might come as a bit of a shock," she said in a gentle voice as they entered. "There has been another attack… a _triple _attack."

They passed the curtained off beds that held Colin and Justin, to see Madam Pomfrey bent over a curly haired girl. The boys recognized her as the Ravenclaw prefect. On the beds across and next to her, however…

Malik fell to his knees, a horrified look on his face. "No… Ra almighty, no…"

Hermione and Seto lay utterly still on their beds, looks of shock frozen on their faces.

Atemu stared, before pushing his way past Yuugi and Ron, the former flailing to regain his balance, mouth hanging open in shock. He came up alongside Seto, reached out with one hand, the other holding his half of the Puzzle as it glowed slightly, trying to get a sense of the high priest. After a moment, the pharaoh snapped his hand away as if he had been bitten, a horrified look on his face as he turned his gaze up to Bakura.

"Make that quadruple attack…" he muttered softly. Bakura flinched slightly, trying not to look like he was worried, but when even he was not safe…

During all this, Malik had drifted over to Hermione's side, his shaking fingers barely touching her cheek. The others were just staring at their petrified friends in shock, still trying to process what they were seeing.

"They were found near the library," Professor McGonagall said softly. "I don't suppose you could explain this? It was on the floor near them."

She held up a small flip up hand mirror, the glass of which was cracked from being dropped. It was obviously Seto's, because there was an etching of the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the back. They just shook their heads, though Harry had a distinct feeling that if this had not happened, they would be able to explain it.

"I will escort you back to your houses," McGonagall said heavily. "I need to address my house in any case."


	11. Revelations

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

I know there hasn't been many changes lately compaired to the older version of the story, and for that I appologize. The major changes in the next chapter will make up for it though. I promise.

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – REVELATIONS**

It was a solemn gathering that night in the Gryffindor common room. Somehow, Ryou and Draco had managed to slip out of their respective dorms, joining the others before the fireplace. Those that were still out barely gave their group a second glance, too caught up with the worry that had plagued them all since the match was cancelled. Now, Harry and the others knew they did not have a choice: after the attacks on Hermione and Seto, they _had _to ask Hagrid about what happened fifty years ago.

They waited in silence, Bakura taking over Ryou's body to sit cuddled with Atemu, until their other dorm mates were sound asleep. Harry went upstairs then, taking his invisibility cloak from its hiding space in his trunk before rejoining them.

"So, who's going to go?" Yuugi asked. "It'll be too suspect if we all go."

"I'm definitely going," Harry declared quietly.

"I want to go too," Draco said. "I _need _to; I know my father's behind this somehow, I just don't know how."

The other five boys looked at each other a moment, before Malik finally stepped forward. "I'm going too," he said. "I have to."

"Malik …" Atemu muttered, worried. Malik turned and gave him a thumbs up, though.

"No worries, pharaoh," he said.

"Don't do anything stupid," Bakura murmured softly, before Malik, Harry, and Draco disappeared under the invisibility cloak. Those left behind stood watching in silence as there was a swift patter of footsteps, and the portrait of the fat lady in the pink dress swung open.

"Good luck, guys," Ron murmured as the portrait was gently shut once again.

-.oOOo.-

Harry thought they would never reach the double doors that led to the grounds outside. The corridors of the school – which normally only had Filch stalking through them – were jam-packed with professors and prefects. The cloak did not prevent them from being heard, and there was a particularly tense moment when Draco bumped into a suit of armor a few feet from where Snape was standing guard. Fortunately, the Potions Master sneezed at the same time the armor squeaked in protest.

It was with relief that the three of them emerged from the castle and into the clear, starry night outside. They raced across the grounds, not stopping until they were safely at Hagrid's lighted hut near the forbidden forest. Harry tossed off the invincibility cloak before reaching up and knocking on the door. It flew open a few seconds later, and they found themselves staring down the shaft of a crossbow. Draco let out a squeak of surprised as Hagrid lowered the weapon.

"Oh," he said, sounding relieved and distracted all at once. "What're you three doin' here? An' with _him," _he added, motioning toward Draco.

"Isn't that obvious?" Malik asked, as Draco pointed a trembling hand to the crossbow still clutched in Hagrid's hand.

"What the bloody hell is _that_ for?"

"Nothin', nothin'," the giant man replied, giving him a distrustful look. "I've just bin expectin'… Doesn' matter. Sit down, I'll make tea…"

Hagrid was obviously anxious about something. He nearly extinguished the fire when he put the teakettle in, as his hand was shaking so badly that water sloshed all over the place.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked. "Did you hear about Hermione and Seto?"

"Oh, I heard, all righ'," Hagrid replied, a slight break in his voice.

He poured them hot water from the teapot – as he had forgotten to add teabags – and was about to cut each of them a thick slice of fruitcake when there came a knocking on the door. He literally dropped the fruitcake as the three boys exchanged worried looks. They rushed over to the corner, throwing the invisibility cloak over themselves as Hagrid went for the door. He made sure they were safely out of sight before opening it. Dumbledore was revealed on the other side, a serious and grave look on his face. Behind him was another elderly man, dressed in an odd combination of a muggle suit and a wizard's cloak.

"That's Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic," Draco breathed. Malik elbowed him to keep quiet.

"Good evening, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, trying to calm the giant man with his voice, but it was not working. Hagrid was practically sweating buckets as he dropped into a chair.

"Bad business, Hagrid," Fudge announced in a clipped tone. "Very bad business indeed. Four attacks on muggle borns; things have gone far enough. The Ministry's got to act."

"But I never…" Hagrid protested, looking imploringly to Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, you know I never…!"

"I want it understood, Fudge," Dumbledore said, his normally gentle eyes full of a determined fire, "that Hagrid has my full confidence. Taking him from this school will do no good."

Hagrid's eyes darted between the two men at that. "Take me? Take me where?" he demanded. Then a horrified look dawned on his face. "Not Azkaban!"

"Azkaban?" Harry mouthed to the other two, only drawing a shudder and a look of loathing from Draco.

Fudge was about to stutter out an explanation, when a sharp rap came on the door. Dumbledore answered it, and Draco had to be elbowed again. Mr. Lucius Malfoy strode into the room, a black traveling cloak swathed over his shoulders.

"Already here, Fudge?" he asked. "Good, good…"

"What're you doin' here?" Hagrid demanded. "Get outta my house!"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Believe me, my dear man, I have no pleasure in being in your… did you call this a _house?"_ he sneered, looking around the small cabin. "I simply called at the school and was told the headmaster was out here."

"And what exactly do you want of me, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, a deadpan look about his face.

"_Dreadful_ thing, Dumbledore," Malfoy said lazily, pulling out a roll of parchment from his cloak, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step down. This is an Order of Suspension. You'll find that all twelve signatures are on it."

"_No!" _Hagrid shouted, thundering to his feet as Malik and Draco had to grab Harry to keep him from bolting out from under the cloak. "Yeh can' take, Dumbledore! Take him away, an' the muggle borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin's next!"

"Oh, is that a confession?" Malfoy replied, smirking at him. Hagrid looked like he was going to snap the man in half.

"Calm yourself, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, looking sharply at that gamekeeper before turning back to Malfoy. "If the governors want my suspension, then they shall have it –"

"But…!" Fudge protested.

"Yeh can'!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "you will find that I have only _truly_ left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given here at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Harry got the distinct impression that the headmaster was looking directly at him as he said that. Malfoy did not notice. He just rolled his eyes, un-amused.

"Admirable sentiments," he said dryly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I must speak with that son of mine about recent… events."

Malfoy bowed Dumbledore out, before following himself. Harry and Malik were not paying attention to that, however; they had their eyes on Draco, who looked even paler than normal. Fudge, in the meantime, was waiting for Hagrid to leave, but the giant had paused a moment, looking around.

"If anyone wanted ter find out some _stuff,"_ he began, speaking slowly, "all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the _spiders._ That'd lead 'em righ'! That's all I'm sayin'!"

Fudge stared up at him, confused.

"All right, I'm comin'," Hagrid grumbled, grabbing his moleskin coat and shrugging it on. He was about halfway out the door when he shouted over his shoulder, "And someone'll need ter feed Fang while I'm gone."

The door banged shut behind Fudge, and the three boys waited a moment before pulling the invisibility cloak off. Draco collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily.

"Good thing I came along," he muttered. "If I didn't, I might be dead by now."

"You're going to have to confront your father one of these days, Draco," Malik pointed out, plopping down in a chair across from him. As if it were possible, Draco's face paled even more, as if he did not have any blood flowing through his veins.

"Let's deal with one thing at a time, okay?" he asked. "Right now we're in a bad situation. Without Dumbledore, there'll be an attack a day. They may as well just close the school tonight."

"C'mon," Harry said, heading for the door. "Let's go back and tell the others what we've found out."

In all the time that he had had it, Malik had never really figured out how the Millennium Ring was supposed to work. He knew, of course, _how _it worked, but actually getting it to do so had been a rather frustrating challenge. So, when the three of them stepped outside and were about to don on the invisibility cloak once more, Malik was shocked when two points on the left side of the Ring suddenly came to life, glowing brightly and pointing off to the forbidden forest.

"Hey, look!" he exclaimed, holding up the Ring while turning to face the forest. All five points came to life at the change of direction, all of them pointing toward the forest. He raced to the outskirts and looked around a moment before taking out his wand and shouting, "Lumos!"

The tip of the wand started to glow and he swept it about the ground. "Look, guys, c'mere!"

Harry and Draco raced up on either side of him, and Malik held the wand in one position so they could see. Spiders – small, jet black, and almost impossible to see – were scuttling about the ground, trying to get away from the light.

"Didn't Hagrid say, 'follow the spiders'?" Harry asked.

"I thought he was just ranting," Draco replied.

"There's only one way to find out," Malik stated, holding up the Ring once more. The points of the Millennium Item were still pointed directly at the forbidden forest. "We should be able to follow them easily enough with this."

Draco grabbed his arm. "We _can't _go in there!" he hissed. "Ask Harry! He knows what happened in there last year!"

Harry fought to hide the smile on his face. "Don't worry, Draco; Bakura's back at the castle. He can't hurt you."

Draco gave him a withering glare in response.

Huddling close together with Malik in the lead, they headed into the forest. The points of the Millennium Ring glowed brightly in the surrounding darkness, only changing direction once or twice but more or less leading them straight into the heart of the dreary place. Malik was so focused on keeping the Item working, that he did not notice much of anything, but Harry and Draco were practically jumping every time an owl hooted or a distant werewolf howled.

Draco let out a yelp of horror suddenly, grabbing a hold of the hood of Malik's belly shirt and nearly strangling him. He glared at the younger boy out of the corner of his eye.

"What the heck is your problem?" he demanded.

"Shh!" Harry snapped. "There's something coming this way. Listen."

The three of them listened in hushed silence. Somewhere off to their right, _something_ was crashing through the trees, carving a path toward them. Malik's eyes grew wide, his imagination coming up with several horrifying possibilities.

"Oh no…" he muttered. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…"

"Quiet, it'll hear you," Harry hissed.

"Hear _me!"_ Malik exclaimed, pointing to Draco. "It's already heard _him!"_

There was an odd rumbling sound, and then total silence. The three boys stood absolutely still, huddled so close to one another it was like they were joined together.

"What do you think it's doing?" Harry asked.

"Probably getting ready to pounce," Malik answered with a gulp.

There was a very pregnant pause.

"Do you think it's gone?" Draco whispered.

"Dunno –"

Suddenly, a bright light flared to life from the direction the sounds had come from, making all of them shield their eyes. Draco tried to run for cover, but his legs got tangled in a tree root, and he ended up falling flat on his face. When after a moment of nothing happening, Malik squinted past the light, trying to see what it was.

"What the… _hell _is a Ford Anglia doing here?" he asked, disbelieving.

"What!" Harry exclaimed, walking toward the light.

Sure enough, there was the Weasley's Ford Anglia that he and Ron had flown to school what felt like a lifetime ago staring right back at them, like a domestic dog that had been let loose in the wild for a few weeks. Draco weakly got to his feet, looking embarrassed that he had panicked over a simple car. Malik looked around a moment, frowning, before turning back to the Millennium Ring. In all the excitement over the car, he had lost his concentration, and the points had gone dead.

"Darn," he muttered. "I've lost the trail. Harry, do you think you could—"

He cut himself off when he saw the refreshed look of horror on Draco's face. The young English boy's lip was trembling, his gaze focused on something at least ten feet above him. Harry was also staring, wide-eyed, his mouth working but no sound coming out of it.

"Oh what is with—?"

The words were barely out of Malik's mouth when something long, hairy, and sticky grabbed him around the waist and hauled him up into the air. He heard a clicking noise coming from somewhere, and saw Harry's feet leave the ground. Judging from the girlish scream a few seconds later, Draco was also captured by the big things.

The creatures holding them took off at a rapid pace through the forest as Malik looked down, trying to determine who or what their captors were. All he was able to see, however, was a bunch of long, hairy legs. He gulped; Hagrid had said to follow the spiders, but he had failed to mention just _how big_ those spiders were!

After what seemed like hours, they came to a halt in a small clearing. Branches above had been purposefully snapped back, allowing the moonlight to flood in on a sight that made Malik blanch. There were _hundreds_ of spiders, and not just small ones that he was used to working with in Potions. Some of these spiders ranged from the size of a large dog to an American SUV, and all of them were black, hairy, had eight legs, eight eyes, and a set of pincers that were clicking rapidly at the sight of the three humans.

Malik was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and Harry and Draco followed soon after. The latter boy looked like he felt; his mouth was open in a silent scream of horror.

"Aragog! Aragog!"

The Egyptian boy looked around as the spiders started chanting, getting up to his knees. What was going to happen now? Were they going to be sacrificed to some grand high "god" spider? Unfortunately, that was looking like the case, as a gargantuan spider the size of a small elephant hauled itself out of a collection of webbing in the center of the clearing. There were some graying patches in the hair that covered its body, and its eyes were a milky white, indicating that it was blind.

"What is it?" Aragog the spider clicked.

"Men," answered the spider that captured Harry.

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked.

"We're friends of Hagrid's," Malik said, somehow finding his voice. Several of the spiders started clicking furiously.

"Friends of Hagrid's?" Aragog repeated, sounding like he did not trust them. "Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before."

"He's in trouble," Malik explained, trying to sound trustworthy, though it was hard with his voice wavering all over the place. "People are saying he let a… something loose in the school. He's been taken to Azkaban."

Aragog clicked furiously. "But that was _years_ ago!" the spider exclaimed. "They believed that _I_ was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets."

"So… so you don't come from the Chamber?" Harry asked, shakily.

"I!" Aragog scoffed. "I was not even born in this land. I came to Hagrid as an egg, thanks to a traveler, and he has taken care of me and mine ever since."

"So, you never attacked anyone?" Malik asked.

"Though it is in my nature, for Hagrid's sake, I did not," the elderly spider replied. "The girl that died fifty years ago was found in a bathroom. I never left the safety of the chest that Hagrid kept me in."

"Do you know what _did_ kill that girl?" Malik asked. "Because whatever it is, it's attacking agai—"

The rest of what he said was drowned out by the angry clicking coming from all the spiders.

"We do not speak of it!" Aragog thundered. "We do not name it! The thing that lives in the castle is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others!"

Malik wanted to ask another question, but he stopped as he became aware of something pulling on his sleeve. Draco was tugging at him, pointing around frantically. The spiders were getting closer… dangerously closer…

"Uh… well… we'll just go then," he said instead, trying to scramble to his feet.

"Go?" Aragog asked, a bit of a humored note in his voice. "I think not. Though my children do not harm Hagrid on my command, I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Goodbye, friends of Hagrid."

Malik and Harry pulled out their wands – Draco was too numb with fright to even get to his feet, opting to cling to the Gravekeeper's leg instead – as the spiders advanced ever closer. They did not think they would be able to do much good, however; any of the spells they knew seemed rather worthless in a situation like this. Suddenly, a long, loud note rang through the clearing as it was flooded with a bright light. The Anglia came roaring in, scattering spiders as it skidded to a halt in front of the boys.

"Grab Draco!" Malik shouted, shaking him off before diving into the driver's seat.

The hope of escape managed to melt away some of Draco's fear, and soon him and Harry were secured in the front seat. Malik's foot hit the floor as soon as the door had slammed shut, running over some spiders as he swerved the car around to face forward. They soon found themselves crashing through the trees, swerving in and out of the giant ones and running over the little ones. Harry winced when they hit a fairly large rock, almost flipping the car over.

"Where did you learn to drive?" he asked, holding onto the seat. Malik shot him a sour glance.

"Hey, cut me a break," he replied, squeezing the Anglia in-between two giant oaks. "I'm used to desert driving; the kind of driving where there is no road and you post your own speed limit."

Harry stared at him as the trees started to thin. "You mean you _have _your driver's license?"

Malik let out a bark of laughter. "You forget: I'm older than you guys; I just turned eighteen this year. I've had both my driver's license _and_ my motorcycle license since I was thirteen." His expression soured then. "I just haven't been licensed to drive in Japan yet. Their test is impossible."

They finally emerged from the forbidden forest then, coming to a gentle stop in front of Hagrid's house before Harry and Malik turned their attention to Draco. He was frozen in his seat, his eyes wide with lingering fright.

"Go get the cloak," Malik ordered. "I'll deal with the stiff here."

Harry got out of the car and went up to Hagrid's porch where he had left his invisibility cloak. As soon as he recovered it, however, he caught sight of Draco running for the pumpkin patch in the back of the house. The sound of retching soon followed as Malik went to help him. The Anglia, with no drivers present, closed its doors and retreated back into the forest.

Harry walked around back, to find that Draco had already finished being sick. He was standing up slowly, with Malik helping him and asking if he was all right.

"Follow the spiders," the pale boy muttered irritably. "Follow the spiders! I don't care how much you all love that crazy oaf! When Hagrid gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him!"

Harry and Malik exchanged amused looks as he started ranting about how he had never been so scared in his life.

"I mean," he continued, "what was the _point_ of all that! What did we learn tonight that we did not already know?"

Harry's expression suddenly turned serious. "Well, we do know one thing for sure. Hagrid's been innocent these past fifty years; he really didn't set that monster loose on the school."

-.oOOo.-

Other than Hagrid's innocence, however, they had not learned much else from their trip into the forest. Weeks later, Ryou, Yuugi, Atemu, and Ron were still pressing them for more details, trying to find out what it was like down in that clearing. Draco threatened to throw them into the forest to find out for themselves what it was like. That threat, coupled with the fact that final exams were looming on the horizon of a school gripped with fear from Dumbledore's absence stopped anymore questioning about the forest trip.

Sometime in the beginning of June found Malik in the hospital wing, sitting next to Hermione's bed. He was worried, even though he had no reason to be. The mandrakes were going to be fully mature in at least a week, and there had not been any more attacks. Still, the nagging feeling of doom in the back of his mind refused to go away, and prevented him from focusing long enough to study in the library with his friends like he usually did on breaks.

"Why don't you visit Hermione, Malik?" Yuugi had suggested. "We all know you miss her. We may all be friends here, but we know despite how much you argue, you and Hermione are more than friends."

So he went to Hermione's side, despite Madam Pomfrey's protests. After a moment, he rested his hands on her frozen arm, and gentle smile on his face.

"It's hard without you around, you know?" he asked. "We're so lost right now, it isn't funny. You always have the answers to everything. We really miss you."

His voice cracked at that. He rested his forehead on her arm, trying to keep tears back.

"I miss you so much," he muttered, his voice shaking.

He reached up, clutching one of her frozen hands… when he paused. He let go and leaned down a bit, peering inside the one he had been holding. Some sort of paper was crumpled up inside her stony grasp. With a bit of tugging, he was able to pull it free without tearing it. He smoothed the paper out and began to read, his eyes widening with each word. He looked down to her in shock, before reaching over and giving her forehead a kiss.

"Hermi-chan, you're the best!" he exclaimed. "There'll be more where that came from when you wake up, I promise. Right now I gotta tell Harry and the others about this."

With that said, Malik took off like a shot, hoping to make it to the library in record time.

-.oOOo.-

Yuugi let out a mighty yawn as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room alone. Though he never told anyone, like Malik, he too felt a nagging sense of doom tugging at the back of his mind, one that bothered him so much that studying was impossible. His feeling, however, had been harassing him since he had opened Riddle's diary. He did not know why, but something had tugged at his heart ever since, as if some unknown voice was calling to him…

Going past the stairs that led to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom made Yuugi stop in his tracks. He looked up the small flight. Was that Ginny up there?

"Hey, Ginny!" he called, running up the stairs. "Are you all right? What are you doing outside of the common room?"

The youngest Weasley did not answer him. She just stood there, staring vacantly at the wall that held the words that had been left after Mrs. Norris was attacked. Yuugi took a couple more steps closer to her, concern etched on his face.

"Ginny, are you okay?" he asked. "C'mon, lets go. I'll take you back to the common room."

Ginny turned to him then, and Yuugi took a reflexive step backward. She had an empty and vacant look to her eyes, a look that he was all too familiar with. It was the same look he used to see on GHOULS Rare Hunters, back when Malik had wanted to kill him and the pharaoh, and even went so far as to brainwash Jounouchi and Anzu.

"Ginny, what's going on?" Yuugi demanded. "Who's controlling you! Who is it!"

Again, she did not answer; she just reached into her pocket and pulled out a thin, black leather covered book.

Riddle's diary!

Yuugi was about to demand that she give him the book, when she opened it to the center, showing off a glowing spine. He was about to tackle her, to take the book by force, to do something; but somehow he could not. When he tried to move his legs, they were sluggish, as if he were walking though knee-deep water. He became dimly aware of his consciousness drifting, as if his Soul Door was being forced closed, cutting him off from his own body.

Ginny suddenly reached over and removed the Millennium Puzzle half from around his neck. Yuugi's mind screamed in protest, but it was a futile effort. Something… something was making him lose control of himself, mocking him in the back of his mind…

Ginny dropped his half of the Millennium Puzzle, and Yuugi did not even flinch as it clattered to the ground, a few of the pieces falling loose. The two of them walked off mindlessly, following the voice of an unheard master…


	12. The Chamber of Secrets

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

**CHAPTER TWELVE – THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS**

Atemu frowned, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, a strange feeling settling in his chest, almost like a really bad case of heartburn. He tried to ignore it, but it only got worse, until he found himself clutching his chest, gasping for breath.

"Are you all right?" Ron asked, privately grateful for an excuse to look away from his study sheet. Ryou's head snapped up in concern as the pharaoh shook his head, placing his other hand on the table.

"No…" he said, voice so weak sounding that everyone was worried. "I… ahhh…!"

Bakura took over Ryou's body before he even knew what happened, leaping over the table as Atemu nearly fell off his seat, Ron barely catching him in time. His skin was hot to the touch… and then suddenly cold and clammy, then hot again. His body started to shake uncontrollably as Harry and Draco got out of their seats, trying to see what they could do to help.

"What's wrong with him?" Ron asked, eyes wide as Draco eyed the pharaoh.

"It's the Puzzle!" he shouted suddenly, pointing to his neck. _"Look!"_

Atemu's head tossed to the side, giving everyone a good view of where the chain the Puzzle half was attached to burned his neck.

"Get it off!" Harry exclaimed, trying to grab the Puzzle, only to come away with his hands singed.

"Move aside!" Draco snapped, pulling out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The spell hit the Puzzle… and was swallowed, glowing slightly as if it was angry. A moment later, it shot out a bolt of Darkness, and Draco just barely snapped his head to the side to avoid it. He turned to see it burn straight through the bookshelf behind him, going even through the wall all the way on the other end of the library.

"Yikes…" Ron commented.

"The chain!" Bakura shouted, trying to help Ron keep Atemu down as he started to convulse. "Cast it on the chain!"

Draco aimed carefully, before casting the spell again. The chain lifted unsteadily over Atemu's head, so hot it singed his hair, before it lifted away from the pharaoh entirely. He left the Puzzle hovering in the air, watching it out of the corner of his eye as Atemu calmed down, resting limply in Ron and Bakura's arms.

It was this scene that Malik ran in on, clutching what he took from Hermione in his hand.

"Did… I miss something…?" he asked.

"No, come and join the fun," Draco replied sarcastically. "Can I get something to put this in?"

"I know Seto has that 'briefcase of doom' of his here, and I just passed by a Ravenclaw on the way here," Malik said, eyeing the Puzzle, able to see the heat radiating off of it.

"I'll get it," Ron said, gently passing Atemu off to Bakura completely, before getting up and racing out of the room.

"Anyway, what are you so excited about?" Draco asked Malik, sitting down again uneasily.

"Oh, right. Hermione _did_ figure out what was in the Chamber of Secrets," Malik announced, laying the paper, which had obviously been torn out of an old book, on the table so all of them could read:

_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land,  
there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk,  
known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may  
reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from  
a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing  
are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous  
fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed  
with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee  
before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk  
flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

Harry's eyes grew wide as he finished reading the excerpt, hardly believing it. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Spiders flee before it… the dead roosters… It all makes sense now."

"Yeah…" Draco muttered; looking like his birthday had come early. "Yeah! Of course! The monster in the Chamber is a Basilisk, a snake! That's why only me and Harry could hear it! But… no one's died."

"That's because no one's looked it in the eye," Harry pointed out. "Think about it. Colin saw the Basilisk through his camera. That's why the film was all burnt up, but Colin just got petrified. Justin…"

"Justin must've seen it through Nearly Headless Nick," Bakura said, cradling Atemu carefully. "Nick probably got the full blast of it, but he couldn't die _again._ That's probably why the priest only got petrified as well."

"And Hermione, Seto, and that Ravenclaw girl were found with Seto's mirror near them," Malik added. "I'll bet you anything they had just figured out that the creature was a Basilisk and were warning people to look around corners with a mirror."

"What about Mrs. Norris…?" Harry asked.

Draco scrunched his face up in thought. "The water," he declared. "There was water on the floor that night. She only saw its reflection."

"But, how's it been getting around the school?" Bakura asked. "Something that big; someone was bound to notice."

"Hermione answered that question already," Malik said, pointing to the bottom of the torn page. The word "pipes" was written in Hermione's tidy scrawl. "It's been getting around through the plumbing. A building this old probably has some pretty big pipes all through it."

"It also explains why we heard the voice coming from the walls," Harry added.

"This is all well and good," Draco cut in, "but we still have no idea _where_ the Chamber is."

They were all silent at that, trying to think of where the Chamber of Secrets could possibly be. Just as Ron came back, lugging around Seto's huge briefcase, that Draco let out a yelp and jumped in his seat, looking like he had been stung.

"Harry, what did Aragog say about the person who died?" he asked excitedly as Ron set the briefcase down, trying to open it up. "'The girl who died fifty years ago was found in a bathroom'? What if she never left that bathroom?"

Malik's eyes grew wide. "Oh, please say you're joking!"

"There's only one way to know for sure," Harry declared.

"Ghhh…!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, looking like he was going to start banging it on the table. "Can someone help me with this thing!"

Bakura rolled his eyes, leaning forward slightly, eyeing the briefcase. What was supposed to pass for locks had strange panels on them, as opposed to conventional dials.

"Kaiba probably has it set to his finger prints," he said, rolling his eyes. "The thing's bullet proof; I don't think the Puzzle'll hurt it too much."

"What does he _keep _in there?" Ron asked as Draco set the Puzzle down carefully.

"Cards," Bakura replied, earning him a disbelieving look. "No, I'm not kidding."

Harry shook his head. "We should go get Yuugi. I think he said he was going back to the common roo—"

"Yuugi…"

Eyes were drawn down to Atemu, whose head fell back and forth almost bonelessly. "Yuugi…" he rasped again. "Danger… Chamber… Yuugi… no… no… let her go…"

They exchanged looks as Atemu's rambling slowly quieted.

"You guys better go," Bakura said after a moment. "I'll look after Atemu; you make sure Yuugi's okay."

"Right," Malik said, already starting toward the door as fast as he could.

The four of them raced out of the library, ignoring Madam Pinch as she shouted for them to walk. They made it to the stairs that led up the Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, when something made Malik stop. Looking up, he caught sight of Professor McGonagall and the other professors standing near where the first attack occurred. He silently urged the others to stop as well while straining to hear what the professors were saying.

"It's happened," McGonagall announced as the five boys silently gathered around the edge of the landing overhead. "Two students have been taken by the monster, right into the Chamber of Secrets itself."

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal of horror, while Professor Sprout clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.

"Who is it?" Snape asked, a rare look of dread on his face. "Which students?"

Professor McGonagall held up something small and golden. Malik's eyes widen; though it was misshapen from some of the pieces being knocked out of place, there was no mistaking the other half of the Millennium Puzzle.

"Yuugi Mutou and Ginny Weasley," she announced in a choked voice.

Out of the corner of his eye, Malik saw Ron fall to his knees in numb disbelief. That instant, overhead, Lockhart joined the gathering of grim professors, beaming as always.

"Sorry, dozed off, what did I miss?" he asked. The other professors fixed him with angry glares; under normal circumstances they would have found this funny, but the boys were just two shocked to even react. Snape stepped forward, a sneer on his face.

"Just the man for the job," he announced, his tone mocking. "Two students have been taken into the Chamber itself. Your moment has come at last."

Lockhart blanched.

"You _are_ our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher after all," McGonagall added, her tone matching Snape's. "We'll leave it to you."

Lockhart looked as white as a sheet. He nodded numbly. "V-very well," he agreed. "I'll… I'll j-just be g-getting ready."

He took off back down the same hallway he had arrived, walking a little too fast. The professors all rolled their eyes before returning to the situation at hand.

"Now that _he's_ out of our hair," McGonagall began bitterly, "I'll make the announcement for all students to return to their common rooms. The Heads of Houses should address the students and let them know what happened. Also, inform them that the Hogwarts Express will be taking them home first thing tomorrow morning."

With that said, the teachers headed down the hallway opposite from Harry, Malik, Ron, and Draco. As soon as they had disappeared from sight, the boys clambered up the small staircase, racing over to where the professors had been standing. There, on the wall, right underneath the first message that had been left was another, more chilling note.

**THEIR SKELETONS SHALL  
LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER**

"Oh Gods…" Malik breathed. "Yuugi-kun… Ginny…"

"We've got to do something," Draco declared, pounding a fist into his open palm. "Maybe we should go to Lockhart. Idiot he may be, but he might also actually try to get into the Chamber. We could at least tell him what we know."

It was as good a plan as any; the boys took off down the hallway Lockhart had disappeared down, quickly coming up on his office. Frowning, Ron pressed an ear against the door. There was the sound of much activity going on inside. Harry rapped on the door, and the shuffling within stopped. A moment later, the door opened a crack, only wide enough for them to see about half of the professor's face.

"Oh, gentlemen," he began. "I'm in a bit of a hurry. If you would be quick."

"We have some information for you, professor," Harry announced. "You might find it useful."

"I don't… it's not…" Lockhart sputtered. Finally, he sighed and opened the door the rest of the way. "Come in."

When Harry had first been in the office, back when he had had detention in the beginning of the year, the walls had literally been covered with posters and framed pictures of Lockhart and his smiling face. Now, however, the walls had been stripped bare, and several trunks were scattered about the room. One of them had a lavender robe poking out of it.

"Are you_ going_ somewhere?" Draco demanded.

"Uh… yes, I'm afraid," Lockhart answered shakily. "Urgent business; unavoidable…"

"But what about my sister!" Ron demanded. "What about Yuugi!"

"Well, as to that," the professor began, wrenching open a shelf on a dresser and emptying the contents into a trunk, "terrible circumstances. No one regrets more than I –"

"But you're the Defense Against the Dark Art teacher!" Harry cut him off. "You can't leave now!"

"My dear boy, when I took the job, things like this were _not_ in the job description!" Lockhart shot back.

"You've got to be joking," Ron said, incredulous. "After all those things you've done in your books."

"Books can be misleading," Lockhart replied delicately.

The four boys clamped their mouths shut, staring at the professor in horror.

"You're not being serious, are you?" Malik asked. "All the people who admire you for the things you've done, and now you're saying it's all a lie!"

"My dear boy," the professor stressed, "do you think my books would have sold half as well if people did _not_ believe I did those things? No one wants to read about an ugly old Armenian warlock or a witch with harelip!"

The boys were downright scowling now, glaring at the professor with absolute hatred.

"Is there anything you _can_ do, then?" Draco asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Lockhart replied, pulling out his wand. "I'm quite good at memory charms. Now, if you gentlemen don't mind, I can't have you going around blabbing about my –"

Malik tore his wand out of his robes and waved it quickly. "Expelliarmus!"

Lockhart was blasted backwards, falling over one of his trunks. His wand went flying as well, and Ron caught it and tossed it out the window. Meanwhile, Malik had grabbed the professor by the collar of his robes, hauling him up to his eye level.

"People like you make me sick," he snarled, looking like he was going to beat him up any minute. "When the time comes for your heart to be weighed, I'll _personally_ make sure Anubis forgoes the ceremony and sends you straight to Ammit! Now, on your feet!"

"B-b-but what do you want me to do?" Lockhart asked, getting shakily to his feet. "I-I don't k-know where the C-C-Chamber is!"

"Well, you're in luck," Draco said, crossing his arms as a smirk appeared on his face. "We think we know where it is, and guess who's coming with us to make sure?"

Lockhart let out a squeak of terror, but otherwise remained silent as the boys led him back out of the office and down to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They pushed him inside – he was shaking so hard at that point that he could barely stand upright – before following him in. Moaning Myrtle was sitting on her toilet as usual, her typical somber expression on her face. She looked up as they entered, surprised to see them.

"Shouldn't you be in your common rooms?" she asked, eyeing Lockhart warily.

"Myrtle, we've come to ask how you died," Harry announced.

Myrtle's eyes lit up at that, as if they had asked a flattering question. "Oh, it was quite dreadful," she said, "and it happened right here in this very stall. I was crying because Olive Hornby was making fun of my glasses, when I heard a boy speaking some strange language. I opened the door to tell him to use his own toilet, and then… I _died!"_

The boys exchanged looks, confused. "Well, how?" Malik asked. "How did it happen?"

Myrtle shrugged. "I don't know," she answered. "I just remember seeing a pair of big, yellow eyes coming from that sink."

She pointed to a group of five sinks arranged in a circle. Each of the boys took a sink (Malik took two), searching about for any clue that would point them toward the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Here!" Ron exclaimed all of a sudden, his hand feeling around on the faucet of his sink. "I think this is it, guys!"

Malik, Harry, and Draco gathered around him. The red haired boy pointed out a small etching of a snake, obviously dismissed by girls that would normally use the bathroom as something a Slytherin girl had carved there.

"One of you," Malik began, turning to Harry and Draco, "try saying something in Parseltongue!"

The two of them exchanged looks, before Draco shrugged and turned to the tap.

"Open up," he ordered. He paused, before looking to the others.

"English," Ron said, shaking his head.

Draco sighed as Harry took a turn, turning his attention to the faucet. He focused his entire imagination on it, trying to pretend that it was a real snake.

"Open up," he repeated.

Only this time, those were not the words that came out of his mouth. A sort of hissing noise escaped from his mouth. What he said did the trick too; the sink with the snake carved on the faucet slid down into the ground as the decorative top of the ring of sinks slid up on supports that had previously been hidden. All this revealed a very large, very black hole that no amount of illumination would show where it led.

"I'm going down there," Harry announced.

"Me too," Ron replied. "I have to, for Ginny."

"For Yuugi too," Malik added. "Atemu will never forgive us if he dies."

"And for Hermione and Seto and everyone else petrified," Draco said solemnly. "No turning back now."

Lockhart let out a nervous laugh. "Well, you young gentlemen won't be needing me anymore!" he exclaimed as cheerily as he could manage. He started walking back toward the door, when Malik and Draco grabbed him by the scruff of his cloak and maneuvered him in front of the hole.

"Oh no you don't," the Egyptian stated. "You'll be going first!"

"But I –"

"Look at it this way, professor," Draco sneered, "if there's any obstacles in the path, we'll know when to duck."

"But, but…!"

They did not even give him a chance to finish stuttering; both of them shoved him into the hole. There was a thud, and Lockhart's screams started fading away almost immediately. Harry followed soon after, lowering himself into the pit a bit before letting go.

It was like riding a roller coaster at night in a slimy seat that had obviously been used more than was healthy. Harry was able to spot other pipes branching off as he went past, but none of them were as large as the one he was sliding swiftly down. The ride seemed to be taking forever, and was only getting more steep as they progressed. He knew that had to have passed the dungeons by now.

"_YAAAAAAAAAHHHOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Harry rolled his eyes as the whoop of excitement echoed from behind him. That had to have been Malik; only he would enjoy this that much.

Just as Harry was starting to worry what would happen when they reached the end, the pipe leveled out, naturally slowing him down enough so that when he shot out the end, he did not hurt himself. He landed with a thud on a damp stone floor in a tunnel large enough to stand in. Just a ways away, Lockhart was getting to his feet, covered in slime and as white as a ghost. Harry rolled out of the way of the pipe so he would not get hit as one after another Ron, Malik, and Draco shot out of it.

"Whoo!" Malik exclaimed, bouncing to his feet. "That was fun. Let's do that again sometime."

Draco glared at him from where he had fallen, looking like he was going to be sick. "You're mental," he declared, making the Egyptian boy sweatdrop.

"Yeah, I know. I get that a lot," he replied.

After a moment of trying to look around in the darkness, Harry, Draco, and Malik took out their wands, shouting for the spell that lit the tips of them so they could see where they were going. They headed for a small adjoining tunnel, ducking so they could fit through. The tunnel gradually got larger, however, and was big enough for them to stand up straight in when they caught sight of _it._

_It_ was a gigantic snakeskin, at least twenty feet long, and glimmering a sickening poisonous green in the dull wand light. A thud came from behind the four boys; Lockhart had fallen to his knees in shock.

"C'mon, on your feet," Ron ordered, grabbing him by the arm.

Lockhart got to his feet… and then pulled Ron toward him, reaching a hand into the boy's robes. Draco leapt to help him, but was too late. Lockhart was standing triumphant, Ron's wand in his hand and a confident smile on his face.

"The adventure ends here, gentlemen!" he exclaimed. "I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl or the boy, and that you four _tragically _lost your minds at the sight of their mangled bodies. Now, say good bye to your memories!" He waved the wand dramatically. "Obliviate!"

Ron's Spell-o-taped wand backfired, exploding with the force of a small bomb right in Lockhart's face. Harry threw his arms over his head and ran, slipping over the snakeskin, as chunks of ceiling came raining down on them. He suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his waist and tossed him down the tunnel, totally clear of any danger from the cave-in.

When the rumbling subsided, Harry got back to his feet and turned around. Where the rest of the tunnel had been was a wall of rock and debris. Standing before it with his arms crossed was Malik, his mouth screwed up in thought as he observed the cave-in.

"Just great," he muttered under his breath, before shouting, "Oy! Ron! Draco! You all right over there!"

"We're fine!" Draco's voice came, muffled by the wall of rock. "Is Harry all right!"

"I'm fine!" Harry called, coming up to stand beside Malik. "What about Lockhart? Is he okay?"

"Not really," Ron answered. "The wand blew up in his face."

There was a dull thud followed by a shout of pain, as if Ron had kicked Lockhart in the shins. Malik tried not to snigger at the thought.

"There's no way we can get through!" Draco called, sounding a bit frantic. "It'll take _ages."_

"Calm down!" Malik shouted back. "We'll just have to go on ahead. If you can find a way through: great. If not, and we're not back in an hour…"

He let his words hang in the air, giving them all an idea exactly how serious the situation was.

"We'll try to shift some of this rock," Draco announced. "Harry… Malik… you two be careful."

With that said, Harry and Malik set off down the rest of the corridor. Soon, the sounds of shuffling rock faded away, leaving the two of them with nothing but their own frayed nerves to distract them from what might lie ahead. Harry kept a tight grip on his wand in nervousness, while Malik's hand went to the Ring on occasion, privately hoping it would cooperate with him should it come down to a fight.

"Malik?" Harry began. "Do… you think we stand a chance?"

"Of course," Malik replied, though his voice shook slightly. "Yes," he said, a bit more firmly. "We have to."

Harry glanced up at him, still not so sure but slightly comforted by the fact that Malik was as nervous as he was. In the next moment, they turned a bend and came up on a solid wall. It was totally smooth, with the exception to two intertwined serpents carved into it, their eyes set with glimmering emeralds. The two of them gulped; it almost seemed as if the carvings were really alive.

"Well, I think this is your department," the Gravekeeper declared, crossing his arms.

Harry took a shuddering breath as he stepped closer to the snake carvings. He stared up at them, focusing completely on them and nothing else.

"Open," he commanded, only to hear a hissing sound escape his mouth.

The serpents parted at his command, as the wall cracked open. The halves of the wall slid out of sight, admitting the two of them into the Chamber beyond…


	13. Good, Evil, and Changes of Destiny

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

Shadow Hearts is crack. That is all.

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN – GOOD, EVIL, AND CHANGES OF DESTINY**

Harry and Malik found themselves standing at the edge of a very long, dimly lit corridor. A stretch of walkway extended into the darkness before them, and the steady _drip, drip_ of water was coming from somewhere. Columns in the shape of snakeheads lined the path, each with mouths wide open as if waiting to pounce and devour them. Malik put a cautious hand on Harry's back, urging him forward despite the trepidation they were both feeling. They proceeded down the pathway slowly, Malik's eyes constantly flicking back and forth to the pillars and beyond.

When they drew even with the final set of pillars, a gargantuan statue as high as the chamber itself loomed into view before them. It was of an elderly wizard, his long thinning beard coming down near the rope belt around his robes. Harry was not focused on that, however, his eyes were down between the feet of the statue. There, lying face down on the stone floor, were two dark robed figures, one with fiery red hair and the other with tri-colored hair.

"Ginny! Yuugi!" Harry exclaimed, sprinting to them and falling to his knees. Malik winced at Harry's sudden outburst, trying to ignore the echo bouncing off the walls, before following him.

"Please don't be dead," Harry urged. He flung his wand aside, grabbing Ginny by the shoulders and turning her over. Malik went over and flipped Yuugi over as well, pulling the small boy onto his lap. Both of them where deathly pale and ice cold; yet their eyes were closed, so they were not petrified. That could only mean…

"C'mon, Yuugi-kun," Malik said, slapping Yuugi lightly on the face. "Wake up already. Don't be dead…"

Yuugi's head just lolled helplessly to the side. The Gravekeeper bit his lip, fearing what he would have to tell the pharaoh if the little boy did not wake up. "Oh, yeah, Atemu, your other self died by the way." That was assuming Atemu would not be dead as well; it was clear that they were still connected somehow; otherwise he would not be in the state he was currently in.

"They won't wake," came a soft voice. Harry and Malik practically jumped out of their skin in surprise. From the shadows, a dark haired boy emerged, his outline lit up by a pale misty glow. Harry frowned; the boy seemed familiar somehow…

"Who… what are you?" he asked.

"A memory," the boy answered, "preserved in a diary for fifty long years."

The boy pointed an area near the feet of the statue, where the black book Yuugi had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom lay open. Harry's eyes grew wide, hardly believing it.

"Tom… you're Tom Riddle!"

Riddle nodded.

"Look, nice to meet you and all," Malik began, clutching Yuugi closer, "but in case you boys haven't noticed, we're in the _Chamber of Secrets_ with a giant _Basilisk_ roving about. This conversation can wait till later."

"But…!" Harry began to protest.

"_Later,"_ the Gravekeeper stressed, getting back to his feet and lifting Yuugi in his arms at the same time. "Now, get your wand, grab the Ginny, and let's _go."_

Harry reluctantly agreed, looking around for his wand. It was not where it had landed, however.

"Did you guys see where—?"

He cut himself off, looking up to see that Riddle was holding his wand, twirling it between his fingers. Harry got up, reaching out to take it, but Riddle simply smirked before slipping it into his cloak pocket.

"You won't be needing it, Harry Potter," the memory stated. "We have much to discuss, after all."

"Are you deaf?" Malik demanded, starting to get annoyed. "We can talk later, now give him—"

"We will talk _now,"_ Riddle interrupted, an odd look on his face. Harry frowned; looking down at Ginny at his feet, before turning his attention back to the apparition.

"How did Ginny and Yuugi get like this?" he asked. A sneer crept onto Riddle's face, an expression that looked eerily out of place. Malik took a worried step back.

"It's quite an interesting story, actually," he answered, in a tone that was mockingly pleasant. "I suppose it would start over the summer, when Ginny started pouring her soul to an invisible friend."

Harry's widened, fearing the implications. "What do you mean!" he demanded.

"My diary, of course," Riddle replied. "Ginny has been writing to me almost all year. She's been telling me everything, from her deepest secrets to her most pleasant dreams. It's rather boring, you know, listening to the fancies of an eleven-year-old girl, but I was patient. I knew that eventually, as she poured some of herself into me, I would be able to pour some of _myself_ back into her."

Malik grit his teeth; this was starting to sound familiar. "Let me guess," he snarled. "You possessed Ginny. You made her open this Chamber, and set that snake loose on the school."

"Oh, the mudblood can use his brain," Riddle sneered.

The Gravekeeper looked like he was going to kill at that statement. "And what does Yuugi have to do with all this?" he demanded.

"Well, it took awhile for Ginny to stop trusting her little 'pocket pal'," the memory explained. "She discarded it, and who should come on it but little Yuugi Mutou. I knew from what Ginny told me, that Yugi was close to you, Harry Potter. I knew if I could gain his trust, I would gain yours as well, so I showed little Yuugi my famous capture of that bumbling oaf, Hagrid."

Harry's eyes narrowed at that. "Hagrid is my friend, but you framed him," he accused. "At first I thought you just made a mistake, but—"

A high, cruel laugh from Riddle cut him off. "It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry!" he exclaimed. "But even showing off that bit of brilliance on my part reaped in some generous rewards. _Yuugi_ started sharing some of his secrets with me, without the knowledge of his precious 'other self'. I knew that if I could get him to take off his Puzzle every now and then I could have him pick up where Ginny left off." His face twisted into an ugly sneer. "I could just picture the look on your face if you found out one of your own near and dear friends was responsible for the death of another close to your heart."

Riddle's face morphed into a downright scowl then. "Of course, I never got the chance. Ginny had apparently seen Yuugi with the book and stole it back, afraid that I would blab her secrets to him. Unfortunately for them, by that time I needed them for another purpose…

"So, I had poor little Ginny ambush Yuugi in the hallway. I made them write their own farewell on the wall, and come down here to wait for death. Ginny cried, and Yuugi begged me to let her go; but I'm afraid none of that really matters now. There's not much life left in them, and they've completed what I set out for them to do."

At this point, Harry was looking up at the apparition with more hatred than he had shown even Snape. Malik's hand was twitching slightly, privately wishing he still had the Rod instead of the Ring, imagining the things he would do to him with it. Riddle took a menacing step toward them, a mighty scowl on his face.

"Now, tell me, Harry Potter," he snarled, "how is it that _you_ – a skinny scrap of a boy with no extraordinary talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How is it that you escaped with nothing more than a _scar,_ while Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

"What do you care?" Harry shot back, not bothering to mask the hatred in his voice. "Voldemort was after your time."

A slow smile crept onto Riddle's face. "Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter."

With that, he took Harry's wand out from his pocket. Holding it up, he skywrote three words:

**TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE**

The memory waved his arms, and the words rearranged themselves into a message that got a startled gasp out of them both.

**I AM LORD VOLDEMORT**

"You've _got _to be kidding me…" the Gravekeeper hissed, backing up. By this time, Harry was practically shaking with rage; his fists clenched, focusing a hateful glare on the past manifestation of Voldemort.

"You're not," he snapped, his voice filled with hate.

"Not what?" Riddle asked casually.

"You're not the greatest wizard of all time," Harry clarified. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Dumbledore is the greatest; everyone says so. You yourself were afraid to even touch Hogwarts, even when you were at the height of your power."

The scowl returned to Riddle's face. "Dumbledore has been driven out by the mere _memory _of me!"

"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry shot back.

Riddle was about to snap back at him, when music suddenly streamed down from the opposite end of the Chamber. The memory whirled as the music started getting louder, filling the whole chamber with its unearthly melody. For Harry, however, it felt like each note was resonating with his soul. He could feel it in his chest; a sense of familiarity mixed with a deep sadness. He had a distinct impression these feelings were not his, but if that were so, then where were they coming from?

A moment later, a crimson bird the size of a small swan appeared from the shadows. Its glittering golden tail was as long as a peacock's, and its whole plumage gave it the illusion of being on fire. It was gripping something frayed and ragged, which it deposited at Harry's feet before resting heavily on his shoulder. The bird folded its great wings, and Harry looked up to see it had a sharp golden beak and beady black eyes. It stared calmly at Riddle, as if it was not bothered or impressed with the memory's appearance.

"That's a phoenix…" Riddle muttered, staring shrewdly at the bird.

Harry looked up at the bird in surprise. After Justin had been petrified, he and Yuugi had been taken to Dumbledore's office, where they had witnessed a bird burst into flames, before being reborn again in the ashes. He had no idea he'd ever have the opportunity to see it like this…

"Fawkes…" he murmured the bird's name, reaching up to touch him. His feathers were warm to the touch, almost like they were on fire.

"And that," Riddle continued, his focus now on the ragged thing the bird had dropped, "is the old school Sorting Hat."

Harry looked down as well. Indeed, it was the old hat, lying motionless at his feet. He picked it up, wondering what the heck he was supposed to do with it, as Riddle let out a high, sinister laugh.

"So this is what Dumbledore sends his defenders," he sneered. "A songbird and an old hat! Well, shall we see how these trinkets fair against the all mighty power of the Heir of Slytherin?"

Riddle walked over to in-between the final two columns, blocking off any hope of exit before whirled about, facing the giant statue of the wizard above them. He spread his arms wide, as if reaching out to embrace some dark power. A sharp hissing sound escaped from his mouth, but Harry understood what he was saying.

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"

High above, the mouth of the statue slowly started to open and a hissing sound from deep within filled the whole chamber. The phoenix took to the air again as both Harry and Malik closed their eyes and backed away from the statue, the Gravekeeper still loaded down with Yuugi's limp body. Something huge hit the floor; feeling like it was shaking the whole chamber. The two of them could almost picture the Basilisk falling out of the mouth of the statue and rearing up, ready to come after them.

"Kill them!" Riddle commanded in Parseltongue.

"What'd he say?" Malik asked.

"Do I really need to translate?" Harry replied sourly, backing up as far as he could as he heard the King of Serpents come closer. Suddenly, Malik handed off Yuugi as best as he could without the use of his eyes, Harry scrambling to hold him up.

"Here, take Ginny too," he said. "I'll try to distract it so you can get out."

"But—!"

Harry tried to protest, but Malik was already moving, trying to get an idea of where the massive snake was just using his ears. Unfortunately the plan backfired on him; with a hiss from Riddle, instead of following him like he had hoped, the snake whipped its tail around, sending him flying to the other side of the Chamber. He landed on the slimy stone floor with a thud that not only knocked the wind out of him, but forced his eyes open as well.

Fortunately for the Gravekeeper, however, the Basilisk was still preoccupied with Harry, and was not focusing its petrifying gaze on him. He breathed a sigh of relief, getting back to his feet, careful the make sure the Basilisk was not looking at him before turning around. Harry had dropped Yuugi, and the snake had him completely cornered. The young wizard had the Sorting Hat jammed over his eyes, as if that would assist him in shutting out the murderous gaze of the Basilisk. Malik grit his teeth, hand coming up, brushing against the Millennium Ring, before he looked down at it. Dammit; if only he had something that could _help…_

Suddenly, with a scorching note, the phoenix dived on the snake from out of nowhere. The bird's beak sunk right into one of the Basilisk's eyes before the phoenix hovered away from harm. The damaged eye started pouring blood, and Malik was forced to close his eyes as the snake swung its head about, hissing in pain. There was another note from the bird, and another hiss from the snake, and the Gravekeeper got the distinct impression that the phoenix had impaled the other eye as well. Opening his own eyes confirmed that, and he tossed a confident sneer toward Riddle, who was too busy hissing furiously at the snake to notice.

"Harry, c'mon!" Malik shouted. "The snake's blinded! Get outta there!"

Harry dimly heard his friend's shout; he was too scared to even move. He clutched the brim of the Sorting Hat over his eyes, mentally wishing for the hat to help him somehow. Suddenly, the hat contracted, as if some kind of hand were squeezing it. Something heavy and hard thudded against his head, almost making him pass out. He lifted the hat off of his head, and a gleaming silver sword encrusted with rubies the size of eggs slid out of it and into his lap.

Malik blinked in surprise as Harry held the sword up in wonderment. Where had _that_ thing come from…?

He caught something glowing out of the corner of his eye in the next moment, and looked down to see that the Ring was glowing vibrantly. Suddenly, the leather cord that kept it around his neck snapped and disappeared, but the Item did not fall. Instead, it hovered before him, four of the points waving about wildly while the middle one remained perfectly straight. Finally, the middle point affixed itself to the Ring, before it shot out, forming a long, thin staff, with the Ring as the top. Stunned, Malik reached out, grasping the shaft…

No sooner did he grab it, that the glow spread through his body, feeling like the light was filling his very soul. He closed his eyes, basking in the warmth, the gentle feeling…

Before he knew it, he was moving, hands twirling the staff about in a pattern that felt familiar, but he knew he had never done such a thing before…

"Thousand Knives!"

Malik did not know why he shouted that; he knew it was a magic card, and was vaguely familiar with it, as it had been in the deck of the Rare Hunter, Pandora. Suddenly, though, he found himself surrounded by dozens of knives that hovered about him for a moment, before shooting out toward the Basilisk. They impaled the creature along its side, and it let out a loud, hissing cry of pain.

Malik shook his head as the glow about him faded, the Ring remaining a staff, as Harry got back to his feet shakily, clutching the sword he had pulled out of the Sorting Hat. The giant snake reared back as Riddle hissed commands at it, looking like it was going to lunge toward him. Harry grit his teeth, holding up the sword…

The snake lunged, and Harry put his entire weight behind the swords. The weapon went right through the roof of the serpent's mouth, drenching him in blood. He had pierced the Basilisk's brain, but…

Harry let out a cry of pain as the snake keeled over onto the floor, twitching slightly in death. The young wizard fell as Malik raced toward him, able to see the splintered Basilisk fang wedged in his arm. He knelt beside him, pulling Harry back and let the young wizard rest against him as he started shuddering uncontrollably. The Gravekeeper grabbed the fang and forcefully pulled it straight out, but it did not do much good. He could literally _see_ the poison coursing through Harry's veins, and he knew that the young boy would be dead in only a matter of minutes.

"You're dead, Harry Potter," Riddle sneered. "I'm going to enjoy watching you die."

Malik clutched Harry's shoulder, trying to ignore the fact that the memory was right. There was a flash of scarlet, and the Gravekeeper turned to see the phoenix had landed next to them and rested its head against Harry's injured arm. Soon, pearly tears started slipping down its glossy feathers, dropping onto the wound from the Basilisk fang. As Malik watched, wide eyed, the wound started to slowly close and the hellishly green poison faded from Harry's veins.

"Get away, bird!" Riddle shouted, pulling out Harry's wand from his pocket. "Get away!"

There was a bang like a shot, and the phoenix took to the air again. Harry managed to sit up again on his own, any signs of poison faded away as if they were never even there.

"I forgot," Riddle snarled. "Phoenix tears have healing properties… Well, if the snake couldn't kill you, then I'll be glad to do it!"

Riddle raised the wand again, as the phoenix fluttered past once more, dropping the black diary next to Harry's knees. There was a brief moment where both he and Riddle stared at the diary in surprise, when Harry grabbed the Basilisk fang from Malik's hand and plunged it straight through the book.

There was a long, piercing scream that rang throughout the whole Chamber. Harry and Malik looked up to see that Riddle was slowly breaking apart, holes of blinding light appearing on his body. With one blinding flash, the memory of the boy who would be Voldemort was gone, with Harry's wand clattering to the ground.

Harry let out a shuddering breath as Malik got to his feet. He picked up the young wizard's wand and handed it to him, a smirk on his face.

"I believe this is yours," he said.

Harry chuckled, before getting up himself, going over to the dead Basilisk and carefully tugged out the sword. Harry collected the Sorting Hat from where he had tossed it as a faint moaning came from the other end of the chamber. From between the feet of the statue of Slytherin, Ginny was stirring slightly. A ways away from her, where he had landed, Yuugi was holding himself up with one hand and holding his head in pain with the other.

Malik went over to Yuugi as Harry went to help Ginny. As soon as he was in range, however, she latched onto him, crying her eyes out.

"Harry! Oh Harry!" she exclaimed. "I'm _so_ s-sorry! I w-wanted to t-tell you, but I c-couldn't! R-Riddle made me! I t-tried to g-get away from h-him, but –"

"Ginny, it's okay," he interrupted gently. "I understand, and Dumbledore should too."

Malik, in the meantime, helped Yuugi to his feet. The small boy was still holding his head painfully, wincing as he clutched the Gravekeeper's shirt.

"Are you all right there, Yuugi?" Malik asked.

"I've got a headache," Yuugi groaned.

Malik laughed out loud. "Only a headache?" he asked. "Thank god."

He lifted the smaller boy onto his shoulders, giving him a free ride as the four of them headed back to the entrance of the Chamber. The phoenix was waiting for them, leading them back out into the corridor that had led into the place. The doors of the Chamber hissed closed behind them, sealing them off from the horrors within for eternity. They followed the corridor back down the way they had come, until the sound of shuffling rock reached their ears.

"Ron!" Harry shouted. "Draco! Ginny and Yuugi are okay!"

A whoop of triumph came as the four of them and the phoenix raced around the bend. What had once been a solid wall of rock had a fairly large hole in it, and an eager face poking through it.

"_Ginny!" _Ron exclaimed, reaching his arms through for his sister. Ginny gladly went through the hole, and Draco quickly appeared in the hole in her place.

"Yuugi! You're alive!" he exclaimed, reaching out for him. He plucked Yuugi right off of Malik's shoulders with a bit of effort, allowing him and Harry to crawl through the gap as well.

"Are you guys all right?" Draco asked as they fell down on the other side. "And… Potter where did you get that sword!"

"Later," Harry replied as the phoenix came flying through. "Where's Lockhart?"

Ron grinned, motioned back to where they had come from. "He's back near the pipe, but… Well, you'll have to see for yourself."

They went back up toward the pipe, where Professor Lockhart was sitting on a rock. He looked up at them as they approached, smiling pleasantly.

"Oh, hello," he said. "What an odd place. Do you live here?"

"No!" Ron answered, incredulous. Draco turned to Harry, a lopsided smirk on his face.

"When the wand exploded, the spell must have backfired on him," he explained. "He has no clue as to who he or where he is."

Malik snickered. "Ahh… sweet justice."

Yuugi sweatdropped, shaking his head. Ron, in the meantime, was looking up the pipe they had slid down.

"Any ideas as to how we're going to get back up?" he asked, as the phoenix flew past him to come to a rest inside the pipe. It waved its tail feathers at them, as if it wanted them to grab a hold as Ron blinked down at it in bewilderment. "Does that bird honestly think it can carry us all up?"

"This isn't an ordinary bird," Harry stated, walking toward the bird.

He motioned for everyone to take one another's hand. Once everyone was ready, Harry reached out and took hold of one of the phoenix's tail feathers. An amazing sense of lightness spread thorough him to the others, and with a rush of wings, they found themselves flying up the pipe ("Amazing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart exclaimed, to which Malik replied, "Well duh!"). Even Harry was impressed by the ride, but unfortunately, it was over quickly, and soon they were deposited back on the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Myrtle stared at them as they regained their bearings, surprised. "You're still alive," she said to Harry.

"Don't be so disappointed," Harry replied sourly.

Myrtle just shrugged. "Oh well… I thought that if you died, you would be welcome to share my toilet," she said, blushing silver.

Draco made a face. "Urgh!" he exclaimed. "Looks like Myrtle _fancies_ you, Harry!"

Harry rolled his eyes, wishing he were somewhere else. Suddenly, the phoenix floated ahead of them, heading out of the bathroom. They followed the bird as it led them down the hallway, up the stairs, and past empty classrooms until they finally came to Professor McGonagall's office.

Harry sighed, before he knocked and pushed the door open.


	14. See You Later

**Yuugiou!  
A New Generation of Priests**

I wasn't feeling well tonight, so I figured I'd finish this story up. Um... also, someone brought up something about Yuugi x Draco? Simply put: don't make me that ill again kthxbai. If you're reading this just to get a perverse thrill from the pairing in this, then I'm sorry, but you're reading the wrong fic. Check the rest of the YGO section, I'm sure you'll find something more appropriate to read.

Anywho; I should have the third story up soon. No guarentees though; I need to get started on writing fics for 30Kisses on LJ.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN – SEE YOU LATER**

Bakura, with some help from the librarian, had managed to relocate to the hospital wing. He cradled Atemu close, watching Madam Pomfrey getting ready to give the people that had been petrified the antidote. He let out a small breath of relief, absently rubbing the pharaoh's shoulder. Now, all they had to do was wait for Harry to get back, and everything would be okay…

"Harry…"

The tomb robber's head snapped down to the bundle in his arms as Atemu stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He blinked, before looking up at him.

"Bakura…?" he asked softly.

"Last I checked," he teased gently. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," he murmured, sitting up gingerly. "What… what happened?"

"Dunno," Bakura replied, keeping a hand on his back. "You started acting like you were having the heart attack from hell; the Puzzle must have been causing it, 'cause it stopped when we took it off."

Atemu put a hand on his chest where the Puzzle was supposed to be, looking around. "Where…?"

He paused, spotting where the Puzzle was resting on top Seto's briefcase. His eyes widened a moment later; apparently the Item had gotten so hot that the briefcase could not take it, and had burned a small indent into it. He gulped, gingerly reaching over to pick it up as Bakura paled.

"Uh oh…" he murmured. "Hey, nurse? Can you revive Kaiba last…?"

-.oOOo.-

Silence reigned in McGonagall's office for a good minute, before a scream sounded through the room. Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting in front of the fireplace with her husband, rushed toward her daughter, engulfing the little girl in a tight hug. Professor McGonagall was standing behind her desk, a hand on her chest as she gasped for air. Next to her, smiling serenely as always, was Professor Dumbledore.

"Welcome back, gentlemen," he greeted, before pulling out Yuugi's half of the Millennium Puzzle and the loose pieces from his robe. "I believe someone would like to know if you're all right, Mr. Mutou."

Yuugi, shaking slightly as if he was about to break down any moment, went up to the elderly headmaster and took the Puzzle. Working with the experience of someone who had done it more than once before, he immediately started on replacing the jarred out pieces. Meanwhile, Mrs. Weasley had finally let go of Ginny, and was wrapping Harry, Malik, Ron, and a flailing Draco in her crushing embrace.

"You saved her!" she exclaimed. "You saved her! _How_ did you do it!"

"I think we would all like to know that," McGonagall added weakly.

Mrs. Weasley let go of them, and Harry looked up at Malik uncertainly. The Gravekeeper shrugged, balancing the Ring turned Staff on his shoulder casually. Fawkes the phoenix went over to rest on Dumbledore's shoulder as the young wizard hesitated a moment, before placing the Sorting Hat, the ruby encrusted sword, and the remains of Riddle's diary on the desk.

Harry then proceeded to explain everything that had happened over the year. For nearly a quarter of an hour he talked, explaining everything from him and Draco hearing the voice in the walls, to following the spiders in the forbidden forest, to finding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"This is all well and good," McGonagall interrupted, "never mind that you've just admitted breaking at _least_ a hundred school rules to pieces. But how on earth did you _survive?"_

So Harry told them of the events inside the Chamber. He told of the phoenix's timely arrival, of how he pulled the sword out of the Sorting Hat, how the Millennium Ring had transformed. At that point, he faltered however. So far, he had avoided mentioning Ginny, Yuugi, and Riddle's diary. He looked sadly at Ginny, before his gaze drifted over to Dumbledore, seeking some assistance.

The headmaster obviously got the hint. "What I would like to know," he began, his eyes twinkling, "is how Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny and Yuugi, when my sources tell me he's currently hiding in Albania."

Yuugi looked up from where he was finishing up the Puzzle, swallowing a bit loudly, while Mr. Weasley let out a gasp of horror.

"Y-You-Know-Who? E-e-enchant Ginny?" he asked. "How?"

"It was the diary," Malik spoke up suddenly. "Riddle created it when he was younger. It kind of works like the spirits do." He looked pointedly to Yuugi and his Item to indicate what he meant. "Over time, as a person writes in it, it becomes easy for Riddle to control that person. Now that the diary's been destroyed, however, he wont be able to harm ether her or little pharaoh again."

"I'm s-so s-sorry," Ginny spoke up suddenly. "I d-didn't realize… I found it in a b-book that Mum got me. I th-thought someone just forgot about it."

"I think," Dumbledore cut in before she could continue, "that Miss Weasley could use some rest and a mug of hot chocolate. You'll find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's been handing out Mandrake Juice almost all night. I do believe the Basilisk's victims will be waking up shortly."

Malik jumped at that, looking like he just remembered something. He started making his way for the door, when he looked back to the others.

"Uh… I… um… I gotta…"

"Just go, Malik," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Right," Malik agreed. "See you guys later."

With that, he took off out the door, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley following with Ginny soon after. Dumbledore turned his attention to Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva," he said, "I do believe all this merits a good feast, don't you agree?"

She inclined her head slightly. "I'll leave you to deal with these gentlemen while I alert the kitchens."

McGonagall swept out of the office as Harry's stomach twisted in on itself. What had she meant by that? After everything that happened – after everything they had been through – surely they were not about to be punished for breaking the school rules!

Dumbledore focused on Harry. "I do recall telling you and Mr. Weasley after you crashed into the Whomping Willow that if either of you broke the rules again, I would have to have you expelled."

Ron opened his mouth to object.

"Which proves that even the wisest among us must eat our words," he finished with a gentle smile. "Awards for Special Services to the School will be awarded to all of you, and… I do believe two hundred points for your respective houses will suffice."

Ron quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"Someone, however, is being quite silent in his involvement," Dumbledore continued. "Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

Harry jumped; he had forgotten that Lockhart was with them! He turned to see that the professor was looking around, trying to figure out to whom Dumbledore was talking to.

"Er… Professor, there was a bit of an accident," Draco began. "Professor Lockhart tried to cast a Memory Charm with Ron's wand, and it kind of blew up in his face."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Impaled on your own sword, eh, Gilderoy?"

"Haven't got a sword, sir," Lockhart replied dumbly. He pointed to Harry. "He does, though. He'll lend it to you."

Harry rolled his eyes as the headmaster chuckled again.

"Mr. Weasley, if you would be so kind as to escort Professor Lockhart down to the hospital wing," he requested. "Yuugi, perhaps you should join them; I suspect your other self will be happy to see you safe and sound."

Yuugi nodded, carefully sliding the last piece back into place before getting up and following Ron and Professor Lockhart out. That left Harry and Draco alone with the headmaster. Dumbledore sat down, motioning them into some chairs next to him. Harry and Draco complied, sitting down a bit uneasily.

"First of all, Harry, I want to thank you," the headmaster began. "You two must have shown me great loyalty down in the Chamber. Only that would have called Fawkes to you."

Dumbledore stroked the phoenix, who had fluttered down to perch on his knee. Draco's face broke out into a bit of a lopsided grin, but faded quickly when he saw Harry's silent, somber expression.

"Headmaster," he began, "when I first put on the Sorting Hat, it said I would do well in Slytherin. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heir for a time too… because I could speak Parseltongue."

"Harry, you can speak Parseltongue because Voldemort – who is the only remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin – could speak Parseltongue," Dumbledore explained. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe he may have unintentionally transferred some of his power to you when he gave you that scar."

Harry's hand flew up to the thunderbolt shaped scar on his forehead, horrified by the thought of having any part of the dark wizard inside of him.

"Then I should be in Slytherin," he said dejectedly. "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me and it –"

"Put you in Gryffindor," Dumbledore finished for him. "Harry, you happen to have many qualities that Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand picked students: his own very rare gift, Parseltongue, resourcefulness, determination… a certain disregard for the rules." The headmaster grinned at that. "Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that is, I think."

"It only put me in Gryffindor," Harry replied, "because I asked not to go into Slytherin –"

"_Exactly!"_ Dumbledore exclaimed, pleased. "Which makes you _very_ different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that define who we are, not our abilities."

The two boys stared at the headmaster, stunned.

"If you want anymore proof, Harry, that you belong in Gryffindor," Dumbledore continued, "I suggest you take a closer look at the sword."

Frowning, Harry got up from his seat and went over to McGonagall's desk, where the silver sword he had pulled out of the Sorting Hat was resting. He picked up the bloodstained weapon, looking it over, the rubies blazing in the firelight. That was when he caught sight of a name engraved just below the hilt.

_Godric Gryffindor_

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat," Dumbledore said, a bit of a twinkle in his eye at the irony of the statement.

Harry and Draco just stared at the weapon, still stunned by it all, as the headmaster reached into Professor McGonagall's desk for a piece of parchment and a quill.

"What you two need, is some food and rest," he said. "Though, I would suggest going to the hospital wing and getting patched up before heading to the feast. In the meantime, I'll be writing to Azkaban; we'll need our gamekeeper back." A thoughtful look crossed his face then. "I'll also need to draft a new advertisement for a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?"

Draco chuckled as he got up from his seat. "Just make sure the next one actually did the things he says he did, hunh?"

The two of them started to make there way to the door. As soon as Harry had his hand on the knob, however, the door banged open, sending the boys crashing into one another. Lucius Malfoy was standing on the other side, a look of absolute fury on his face. Cowering between his legs, wrapped heavily in bandages, was none other than Dobby.

"Good evening, Lucius," Dumbledore greeted pleasantly, not looking up from the note he was writing.

Mr. Malfoy stalked toward the desk, ignoring the boys and the house elf trying frantically to polish his shoes. Draco, for one, had never seen his father so enraged. Not only were the man's shoes half polished, but also his hair was disheveled and his traveling cloak was askew.

"So!" he exclaimed. "The governors suspend you, but you see fit to come back here anyway!"

"Well, you see, Lucius," Dumbledore began, smiling serenely, "when the other governors heard that Mr. Weasley's daughter had been killed, they thought it would be best that I return. It was like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, so to speak. Also, many of them seemed to believe that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place."

Malfoy seemed to get paler, but that did not take away the look of rage on his face.

"So, did you stop the attacks?" he demanded.

"We did," Dumbledore replied.

"Well, who was it?"

"The same person as the last time, Lucius," Dumbledore answered, "only this time Voldemort was acting through another, by means of this diary."

He pushed the diary forward on the desk, keeping a close eye on the other man along with Draco. Harry, however, was busy watching Dobby. The house elf was pointing to the diary, and then to Malfoy, then hitting himself on the head.

"I see…" Malfoy hissed slightly.

"A clever plan, really," Dumbledore continued, "because if Harry and his companions had not discovered the diary, Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one could have proven that she had not acted of her own free will. And then imagine what might have happened. Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act would probably have become the laughingstock of the wizard community."

Lucius Malfoy shot Harry a venomous glare. Dobby, in the meantime, was still pointing to the dairy, Malfoy, and then hitting himself behind his master's back. Suddenly, it dawned on Harry what he was trying to tell him. He nodded slightly, and the house elf retreated to the corner, twisting his ears as punishment.

"Don't you want to know _how_ Ginny got that diary, Mr. Malfoy?" Harry demanded.

"Why would I care how a silly little girl got it?" Malfoy snapped.

He stepped forward. "You gave it to her, didn't you?" Harry demanded. "When you picked up her Transfiguration book in Flourish and Blotts, you slipped it inside, didn't you?"

Malfoy sneered down at him. "You can't prove that," he snarled. Then, his eyes flicked up to Draco, as if noticing him there for the first time. "What are you doing here with this riffraff?"

Draco's stomach twisted, but he forced himself to ignore it. He made a show of crossing his arms, shooting Harry an irritated look.

"They bumped into me in the hallway, Potter and his merry band of mudbloods," he sneered. "They saw it fit to drag me along with them."

Malfoy fixed Harry with a look of utmost loathing. "I'll have your head for treating my son in such a manner." His eyes flicked over to Dumbledore. "Both of you."

He whirled around, snapping for Dobby to follow as he stormed out of the room. Draco watched him go, waiting until the door was slammed closed, before rushing over to the desk and grabbing Riddle's diary. He shoved it into a bewildered Harry's hands a moment later, a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Trust me. I'm sure my father would _love _to have that back."

It took a moment for it to dawn on Harry, and he returned Draco's smirk. He hurried off to the door, pulling off his slimy sock as he ran and shoving the diary inside. Draco made a face, trying not to laugh as he started for the door as well, staying just inside and watching as Harry ran up to his father. As expected, his father ripped off the sock, glaring at Harry and murmuring something he could not hear. He was not paying attention to that, though; his eyes were on Dobby… who was happily clutching the sock he had caught.

It did not take his father long to figure out what had happened, and he lunged for Harry. Dobby stood between the two of them, however, and a loud crack later, Mr. Malfoy was sent flying back, landing hard against a wall. He got up shakily, glaring at the two of them, before he hurried off.

Once his father was out of sight, Draco hurried out of the room, just in time to see Dobby jump on Harry excitedly.

"Harry Potter has freed Dobby!" he wailed.

"Congratulations, Dobby," Draco said, amused. "Just do us a favor; don't try to save Harry's life again."

Harry chuckled as Dobby nodded, hopping off of him.

"Harry Potter is by far the greatest wizard Dobby ever knew!" he exclaimed. There was a crack, and Dobby disappeared, leaving Harry and Draco alone in the corridor. They turned to each other, a bit of an awkward silence passing between them.

"You really think your father didn't suspect anything?" Harry asked.

"Dunno, he probably did, but didn't want to say anything," Draco replied, putting his hands on his hips. "I should be safe for a little longer."

"Where will you go if he tosses you out?" he asked, worried. Draco just waved it off, however.

"I'll be okay; should it come to that over the summer, I can always send a note to Dumbledore," he said. "I don't think he'd have a problem helping me find a place to stay."

Harry grinned slightly, holding a hand up. Draco smirked, clasping his hand in a firm grip, before they both started off toward the hospital wing.

-.oOOo.-

The rest of the school year passed by in a blaze of warm sunshine, and Hogwarts had returned to normal once more with only a few differences. Not only were Defense Against the Dark Arts classes canceled, but also final exams had been dropped for that year as a school treat (much to Hermione and Seto's disappointment). Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as school governor, and was also under investigation at the Ministry of Magic for unethical practices. Hermione and Malik were walking down the halls hand-in-hand again, and Bakura was out more often, taking every opportunity to cuddle Atemu he could get.

All too soon, the journey home on the Hogwarts Express came. The whole tribe managed to get a large compartment to themselves on the train. Draco even joined them sometime after the train started moving, having to duck as Fred and George Weasley set off a Filibuster firework at him.

It was a tight fit with everyone, but at least they were all being civil to one another. Atemu and Bakura were snuggled off comfortably near a window; the pharaoh looked a bit disgruntled at being petted like a little animal, but eventually rested against the tomb robber. Malik and Hermione were in a much similar situation, the Gravekeeper with a silly smile on his face as he cuddled his girlfriend. The high priest was out and about, doing a good impression of his outer self… until Ron caught him playing video games on the laptop.

Draco joined the twins in setting off the last of the fireworks they had gotten last summer, much to Harry and Yuugi's amusement. Ginny kept taking sidelong glances at Yuugi, and he finally caught her one time.

"What is it?" he asked innocently. She just blushed and looked away. Bakura snickered, giving him a lewd grin.

"Oy, pharaoh, looks like your other self got himself a girlfriend," he remarked. Yuugi blushed and looked away as well as Atemu elbowed the tomb robber.

The train eventually came to a slow stop, and Harry reached into his trunk for a piece of parchment and quill. He scribbled his number a few times and tore it, handing each of them a copy.

"This is called a telephone number," Harry told Ron. "I showed your dad how to use one last summer. Call me at the Dursely's okay? I don't think I could stand another summer with only Dudley to talk to."

Draco looked at the number from all angles, confused. "What's a 'fellytone'?" he asked. Yuugi shook his head, resting a hand on Draco's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it; you probably don't have one anyway," he commented dryly.

Draco left the compartment first, going back to join up with his goons for appearances sake. The rest of them made their way off of the train and joined the crowd of people waiting to go through the enchanted barrier. Malik turned his attention to Harry as they moved closer toward the Muggle world.

"Your aunt and uncle," he began, "they should be proud of everything you've done this year, shouldn't they?"

"Are you kidding?" Harry asked. "All those times I could have died, and didn't manage it? They'll be furious…"


End file.
